After an agonizing period of controversy over the "Improvement of Direct Election of Chancellor Candidates," the faculty finally cast their vote. None of the members coming out of the polls seemed light-hearted. In accordance with the second phase of the National University Improvement Plan adopted by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST), the university administration implemented faculty ballot and attempted to abolish the direct election.

 
The faculty council accused MEST of threatening to reduce financial support to the school and in effect violating the autonomy of the university. They tried to defend their right for direct election pushing ahead with boycotting the ballot. The direct election has symbolized the democratization of university.

 
However, the direct election turned out to be abolished. The result reflects the concerns of the majority of members who preferred to stabilize the school management. Due to this decision, the University Administration is faced with another task to implant a new system for election.

 
The University Administration now has to embrace remaining issues in improving education. During the rest of the fiscal year, at least a 4.5 billion Won budget should be secured by any means. The administration also needs to prepare for MEST's annual evaluation in September in order to avoid any accusation of being poorly run. In particular, the financial support from the government should be efficiently managed.

Dissension amongst the members is another remaining issue. After the ballot, the board members of the faculty council decided to resign. However, in such a crucial moment in the academic realm, it is inevitable to have a certain amount of turbulence. What is important is to resolve the conflict and reunite the university members for further development of the school. The vote is done. Now it is time to take a deep breath and prepare for takeoff.