The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), which has been without a new president for one year, will hold an extraordinary board meeting on the 26th to attempt electing its 18th president.
KAIST will convene the extraordinary board meeting at 5 p.m. at the Yangjae Industry-Academia Campus of the Kim Jaechul AI Graduate School in Seocho-gu, Seoul, to proceed with the presidential election process. The Presidential Candidate Selection Committee narrowed the final candidates to three in March last year: incumbent President Lee Kwang-hyung, Professor Kim Jung-ho of the School of Electrical Engineering, and former Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) President Lee Yong-hoon.
If all board members attend, a candidate must receive at least 8 votes from the 14 members excluding incumbent President Lee, who is also a candidate. The majority vote winner will be recommended to the Minister of Science and ICT, then appointed as president upon approval from the Minister of Education.
President Lee's term as the 17th president ended on February 22 last year, but he has remained in office due to lack of progress since the candidates were finalized. KAIST officials explained that board decisions were delayed due to factors including the early presidential election.
However, concerns are growing that the presidential vacancy could be further prolonged if this selection also fails. Without a majority vote winner, the candidate recruitment process would have to restart.
Five board members' terms expire on the day of the extraordinary meeting. Board members Kim Yi-hwan, UST Professor Emeritus; Cho Sung-pyo, Kyungpook National University professor; Na Kyung-hwan, Dankook University professor; Park Sung-dong, former Satrec Initiative CEO; and Park Hyun-min, principal researcher at Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science, all see their terms end on the 26th. If board replacements also occur, the selection process could be further delayed.
In response, the KAIST Faculty Council issued a statement in December last year urging presidential selection. The council stated, "If the delay in presidential selection continues, the university's strategic decision-making and internal and external cooperation could be undermined," demanding a prompt decision from the government-appointed board.