Ministry of Education Officials to Be Excluded from Appointment as National University Secretariat Directors

Director of National University Secretariat Opened to Other Ministries' Officials and the Private Sector
Secretariat Directors Working at 27 National Universities Placed on Standby Orders

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The Ministry of Education is pushing for a personnel reform that excludes Ministry of Education officials from being appointed as secretaries-general at national universities.

On the 26th, the Ministry of Education announced that it would implement a personnel reform for secretaries-general at national universities. The appointment of Ministry of Education officials to the secretary-general positions at national universities will be excluded, and the positions will be opened to officials from other ministries as well as the private sector. Currently serving Ministry of Education officials holding secretary-general positions will be placed on standby orders.

Currently, a total of 27 national universities have Ministry of Education officials appointed as secretaries-general. Among them, 18 universities have 1st and 2nd grade officials, and 8 universities have 3rd grade officials serving in these roles. Six universities, including Kangwon National University, Jeju National University, and Gunsan National University, have operated the secretary-general position as an open recruitment or public contest.

The personnel reform for secretaries-general at national universities is a follow-up measure to the work report announced by the Ministry of Education at the end of July. The Ministry explained that the goal is to appoint outstanding talents desired by university presidents as secretaries-general to contribute to university development.

Im Yong-bin, Director of the Ministry of Education’s Operations Support Division, said, "This is an inevitable choice to drastically improve the personnel system that the Ministry of Education has used so far and to move toward a progressive organization. There was an opinion that improvement is needed regarding the structurally contradictory situation where Ministry of Education officials who supervise and guide national universities are themselves subject to supervision and guidance in the field."

To demonstrate its commitment to personnel reform, the Ministry of Education took the bold step of placing its officials on standby orders first. However, since the national audit is approaching, the Ministry plans to implement standby orders for schools subject to the audit after the national audit is completed.

The Ministry of Education plans to cooperate with related ministries such as the Ministry of Personnel Management to support the discovery of candidates desired by university presidents.

Director Im explained, "This is an unavoidable preemptive measure reflecting our firm determination to carry out personnel reform, followed by comprehensive institutional improvements. We will ensure that inter-ministerial exchanges and appointments of secretaries-general in the direction desired by university presidents can be made as soon as possible."

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