Seoul National University's (SNU) personnel committee failed to review the proposal about rehiring former professor Kim Minsu on Monday. Last Friday it voted against rehiring him, and this time the meeting did not even get started because of opposition from professors who claimed there was no reason to reconvene. SNU says there will be yet another attempt on Thursday, but it has already smeared itself once again before the new semester even gets started.
We do not feel the need to discuss yet again the ugly behavior of certain professors stubbornly opposed to Kim's reinstatement. The behavior damages the basic spirit of a judicial decision, and it is way out of step with commonly accepted ideas. The problem at the current juncture is the so-called "political skills" of school president Jeong Un Chan, since he should be exercising wisdom on this situation.
The reason some professors are opposing Kim's return in such an organized fashion has got to be that no small degree of human resentment that has accumulated all this time. Maybe Kim himself was somewhat rough in bringing up the issue, having fought a lonely fight over the past six years to get his job back. If he wanted to carry out the court's decision about reinstatement and achieve a breakthrough in the situation, then Jeong, for his part, should have exhibited political strength – in the wider sense of the term – by seeking to carry out the rules through dialogue and persuasion. Exercising that kind of political skill is something a university president is obliged to do in order to mediate and manage a school's conflicts, whether big or small.
It would be hard to say that Jeong has maintained a minimum of fairness and sense of responsibility as SNU's president since Kim was excluded from rehiring. When faced with calls from both in and beyond the university to reinstate Kim to his position, Jeong said the school would wait for the courts to decide and took a passive approach. Now that Jeong has that court decision he needs to stand by the principles involved and take clear action. Even if there is personal discord among SNU's professors that makes it hard to go by the rules, he needs the political wisdom that knows how to overcome the situation with dialogue and persuasion.
The Hankyoreh, 2 March 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]
[Editorial] SNU President's Lack of 'Political Skill' |
