With the 22nd National Assembly member elections approaching, the General Students’ Association (GSA) president attended a political event, which caused controversy within Pusan National University (PNU). The event which the GSA president attended has sparked more controversy as it was a venue for a declaration of the candidacy of a politician whose rough words caused a stir. The need for disciplinary action or dismissal of the GSA president is also being discussed, centered around the student society.

The controversy erupted when various press outlets released photos showing Lee Chang-Jun (Dept. of Geological Sciences, 22), GSA president, on March 18th. In the photo, he was chanting slogans at the press conference for Jang Ye-Chan a former top member of the People Power Party, currently standing as an independent. Despite being the “representative of all PNU students,” he was seen supporting the politician who had previously caused controversy with his rough words, leading to the cancellation of his nomination by the party. Criticism from students intensified after it was revealed that the GSA president and executive members had visited the campaign camp of the same candidate on February 18th. A group photo featuring the GSA president and executive members was posted on Jang Ye-Chan’s Facebook page at that time. They were wearing PNU’s official badges.

The fierce criticism spread rapidly on the PNU online anonymous community, “Everytime.” Posts flooded the community, such as “If he wants to participate in politics, he should be without a status as the student representative,” “It’s not reasonable to support someone who denigrates university students, youth, soldiers, and women?” and “He should recognize his position and act accordingly.” A student even submitted complaints through the official GSA email. The recent actions of the GSA president do not accord with the purpose of Article 2 of the general rules of the GSA, which says, “Protect the hall of truth from power and capital and defend the rights of the students.”

On bulletin boards around the campus, there were posters saying “We Urge GSA, P:New to Make Responsible Decisions Regarding the Political Exploitation of PNU Students’ Representation.” Lee Seok-Jae (Dept. of Political Science and Diplomacy, 19), who wrote the poster, stated, “While individual political tendencies and actions should be respected in a liberal democratic society, he should have reflected on the sense of responsibility of being GSA president. The president should have exercised utmost caution, especially when supporting a politician who has been disputed because of his rough words.” Additionally, he said, “The purpose of the GSA is to seek out sites where students are suffering, rather than sites where the politician who said rough words announced his candidacy.”

As criticism from the student community intensified, the GSA released an official statement on March 19th at 9am through its official social media. According to the statement, the GSA president met the candidate Jang Ye-Chan because the candidate requested to meet him for the amendment of the “Special Law on the Establishment and Development of Innovation Cities” while attending various forums for students’ rights on February 18th. Lee Chang-Jun, the GSA president, asserted through the statement “The GSA president should express GSA’s opinion directly to any person anywhere in Korea if it can ensure the rights and enhance the welfare of 20,000 PNU students.” 

However, students said that GSA president’s statement makes no sense. The point of the issue is that he attended a gathering supporting the controversial candidate as the student's representative. However, he obscured the essence of the matter by mentioning the forums he had participated in before. Students also complained that there was no mention of the attendance at Jang Ye-chan’s independent candidacy press conference, which sparked the controversy.

In an interview with “Channel PNU” on the afternoon of March 19th, the GSA president, Lee Chang-Jun, stated, “I attended the candidacy press conference due to personal acquaintances without wearing the badge of a representative. So, I overlooked its ramifications. I acknowledge that it was a situation where students could misunderstand due to my careless actions, and I will express my position once again.”

Amid various repercussions and suspicions, this matter will be discussed by some college student councils during the 11th Expanded Central Operations Committee meeting at 7pm on March 19th , according to the cover of “Channel PNU.” 

Reporter Yoon Da-Gyo

Translated by Ha Chae-Won