Seven Professors at Sirip University Resign from Administrative Posts... Aftermath of Seoul City's Budget Cuts

Protest Against Unilateral Abolition of Half-Price Tuition... Students Also Issue Statement

Seoul City University Campus (Photo by Asia Economy DB)

Professors at the University of Seoul (Si-rip-dae) have plunged the school into turmoil by resigning from their administrative positions in protest against the Seoul City Council's decision to cut funding. While students are divided on the effectiveness of the half-price tuition policy, they unanimously criticize the council's unilateral decision.

According to Si-rip-dae on the 30th, the university's faculty association held a general meeting on the 28th. At this meeting, seven professors holding administrative posts submitted their resignations. These professors, including the vice president and department heads, had terms lasting until February next year. Furthermore, Seo Soon-tak, president of the University of Seoul, hinted at the possibility of resigning from his position, stating that he is "considering the issues with firm determination."

The reason for their resignation is the funding cut by the city council. On the 16th, the council confirmed the university's funding for next year at 47.7 billion won, a reduction of 10 billion won from the 57.7 billion won proposed by the Seoul city government. Considering that the university's total budget this year is 140.3 billion won, with 87.5 billion won coming from city funding, this support plays an essential role in the university's operation. The council's additional budget cut effectively halved the funding.

Kim Hyun-ki, chairman of the Seoul City Council, explained the funding cut by saying, "We aim to reduce the university's financial dependence on Seoul City to secure its independence and autonomy," adding, "The university must actively innovate and reform to strengthen research performance and competitiveness."

The university expressed dissatisfaction, viewing this as a de facto abolition of the half-price tuition policy. The half-price tuition policy was a flagship initiative of former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon in 2011. At that time, university tuition fees were a significant burden on parents, often referred to as the so-called 'bone tower,' and Mayor Park introduced the half-price tuition policy to alleviate this.

However, criticism arose that it was populism, benefiting only University of Seoul students with Seoul city funds. There were also expectations that other universities nationwide would follow suit and reduce tuition fees, but this did not materialize. The average annual tuition fee per student this year is about 6.75 million won, which is 50,000 won higher than in 2012, ten years ago (about 6.7 million won).

Opinions among students about the half-price tuition policy are divided. Jang (29), a University of Seoul graduate, said, "If it weren't for the half-price tuition, I wouldn't have been able to attend a university in Seoul due to my family's financial situation," adding, "I often saw students from other schools envying our tuition fees during my school days." On the other hand, Kim (31) said, "I think the national scholarship provided greater benefits than the half-price tuition," and added, "There were frequent talks among students that the quality of education declined because of the half-price tuition."

However, most agreed with the criticism that the budget cut was a unilateral decision made without dialogue with students. The University of Seoul's student council stated, "We have requested a meeting with the city council since October 21 but have not received a response," and expressed "deep regret over the unilateral decision made without communication and the hypocritical stance of claiming to act in the students' interest." Since October 23, the student council has been collecting signatures for a joint statement opposing the funding cut and surpassed their target of 5,000 signatures within five days. The student council plans to deliver the joint statement to the city council next week.

A university official said, "The resignation of the professors from their administrative posts is both a responsibility for failing to prevent the budget cut and a form of protest," adding, "We will discuss and decide on future responses."

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