Impeachment Crisis... Prolonged Vacancy of University and Cultural Institution Heads in Gwangju and Jeonnam

Chonnam National University President Appointment Delayed, Acting Leadership in Place
Delays Also Affect ACC Director and Gwangju Museum of Art Director

As the second execution of the arrest warrant for President Yoon Seokyeol is imminent, on the morning of the 14th, an employee presumed to belong to the Presidential Security Service was patrolling the premises at the presidential residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

Due to the aftermath of the impeachment crisis following the declaration of martial law, the appointment procedures for university presidents and heads of public institutions in the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions are being delayed, raising concerns that the leadership vacancies will be prolonged.

There are also concerns that the prolonged vacancy of university presidents could disrupt new projects scheduled to begin with the start of the new semester.

According to Chonnam National University on the 14th, the university recommended Professors Lee Geunbae and Song Jingyu as candidates to the Ministry of Education in September last year, but the process for appointing the next president has been delayed.

On this day, with the retirement of President Jung Sungtaek, Vice President Kim Byungin will serve as acting president. The president of a national university is appointed through a recommendation to the President by the Ministry of Education after deliberation, and is officially appointed after a Cabinet meeting resolution.

The presidency of Korea Institute of Energy Technology (KENTECH) remains vacant as well. After the voluntary resignation of the first president, Yoon Euijoon, in December 2023, Vice President Park Jinho has been serving as acting president. Although the university board held an open recruitment for the new president in November last year and planned to finalize the appointment this month, the process has been repeatedly postponed due to the impeachment crisis.

The appointment process for the CEO of Korea Electric Power Service (KEPCO KPS), a public corporation, has also been stalled. After the term of CEO Kim Hongyeon ended in June last year, Heo Sanguk, former head of the Power Plant Safety Business Division (Vice President), was selected at the end of last year, but the appointment process has been put on hold due to the impeachment situation.

The appointment procedures for heads of major regional cultural and artistic institutions are also expected to face difficulties.

This year, new heads must be appointed for cultural and artistic institutions including the director of the National Asia Culture Center (ACC), president and chairperson of the ACC Foundation, CEO of the Gwangju Biennale, director of the Gwangju Museum of Art, and director of the Gwangju Arts Center.

A representative of a local civic group stated, "With the President, who holds the authority to appoint, having been impeached, each institution needs to come up with measures to minimize the damage caused by the leadership vacancies."

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