Mokwon University President Kwon Hyuk-dae Retires Honorably... "Honored to Have the Opportunity to Devote Myself to the University"

On the 23rd, President Kwon Hyuk-dae is delivering a congratulatory speech at the Kyowon retirement and honorary retirement ceremony. Photo by Mokwon University

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] “It was an honor to have the opportunity to dedicate myself to the development of the university as its president.”

On the 23rd, Mokwon University President Kwon Hyuk-dae said this while presiding over the retirement congratulatory service for faculty members at the on-campus chapel (university church).

The retirement ceremony held that day was for 12 faculty and staff members, including President Kwon. President Kwon will take early retirement on the 31st of this month, marking 32 years since he joined Mokwon University as a professor in the Department of Business Administration in 1991.

During his tenure, President Kwon served as Director of Planning, Director of Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation, Chair of the Faculty Council, Director of Academic Affairs, and Vice President for Academic Affairs, playing a solid supporting role for the university.

Especially right after his inauguration as president, he implemented academic reforms by promoting a “College of Educational Innovation that cultivates customized talents,” operating an interdisciplinary curriculum combining culture and arts, humanities and social sciences, and science and technology. This was based on the judgment that the university should proactively lead the cultivation of future-oriented convergence talents in line with the times.

During his term, Mokwon University achieved excellent results, being recognized as a best practice in the Ministry of Education’s Innovation Support Project and the “2018 University Institutional Evaluation Accreditation.”

Also, it was the only university in the Daejeon area selected as an Excellent University for Internationalization of Education and an Accredited University, receiving related certifications for five consecutive years and becoming a university selected for the Government Scholarship Program for Foreign Students (GKS).

Recently, Mokwon University was selected for the Ministry of Education’s “Leading University for Industry-Academic Cooperation Development Project” (LINC 3.0), receiving a total of 12 billion KRW in support over six years until 2027, which is also considered one of President Kwon’s achievements.

By attracting numerous government-supported projects including this, President Kwon is widely regarded within the university as having contributed to enhancing Mokwon University’s financial soundness.

Above all, although President Kwon could have completed one more year of his professorship after his presidential term ends this month, he chose early retirement, expressing the view that “a new professor should come in to lead the university’s development.” This decision was made for the benefit of the entire university rather than personal reasons, aiming to end his tenure on a high note.

President Kwon explained the reason for his decision to take early retirement: “While staying at the school to teach students again could be personally rewarding, I thought it would be more beneficial for the university to give the position to a younger professor to contribute to nurturing future scholars and leading university development.”

Meanwhile, the Board of Directors of the Methodist Academy Foundation appointed Professor Lee Hee-hak of the Department of Theology at Mokwon University as the “10th President” on May 30.

The inauguration ceremony is scheduled to be held at the Mokwon University chapel on the 1st of next month.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.