Professor SUNG Nak-in from the College of Law has taken office as Seoul National University’s 26th President having officially started his four-year presidency on July 20.

Seoul National University (SNU) has experienced significant changes throughout recent years beginning with its incorporation in 2012. With these changes, SNU faces a number of interesting challenges, particularly in the legal area. President Sung, a leader in legal matters, appears to be a substantial and influential figure in this area.

President Sung has devoted himself to more than 30 years of teaching as a professor of law. He graduated from Seoul National University College of Law in 1973 and continued his studies in Paris, where he obtained a doctoral degree in law from the University of Paris 2. President Sung has served as the chairperson of the Korea Law Professors Association, Inc., a unique institution that represents law professors in the country. In addition, he has acted as the president of Korea Public Law Association, the largest association of constitutional and public law scholars in Korea. From 2004 to 2006, President Sung served as dean of the SNU College of Law. Since then he has actively been part of the SNU community as a member of the University Council.

President Sung claimed the need to build a sturdy foundation to ensure the ambitious goal of making SNU become one of the top 20 universities of the world by 2020 and to become one of the top 10 universities in the world by the year 2030. He has stated that he will dedicate his tenure as president of SNU to enhancing the capacity and raising the reputation of SNU to match that of top universities in Asia such as the University of Tokyo, Peking University, and Tsinghua University. In order to do this he has suggested three visions: SNU in Love, SNU in Pride and SNU in Respect.

To begin with, SNU In Love focuses on producing communal values, strengthening the community on a national and local level. It is a vision about connecting bridges between the young and old and transcending barriers. President Sung recognizes the role the university has in producing key influential figures who have contributed to the development of Korea. SNU In Love is a vision that seeks to strengthen the relationship of the university and the local community by providing more facilities and opportunities for younger students living around campus.

President Sung’s second vision, SNU In Pride pertains to the institutional changes the university is experiencing at the moment. There are challenges that need to be addressed so that SNU can fulfill its potential and become something we can be proud of, leading the way as it has done before. Having become an incorporated institution just two years ago, SNU faces various tasks such as legal challenges and changes in institutional transition (previously the president of SNU had served as the chair of the board of directors before the separation of the two heads in July of this year). With his expertise being public law, President Sung is confident in his ability to address and resolve these challenges. He has stated his hopes to increase the authority of each college and department in order to guarantee creative development of each school. President Sung acknowledges the legal and institutional challenges and is confident to solve these issues. Some relate to the coherence and unity of the university, as well as the autonomy of each department. President Sung recognizes the importance of each department being able to enjoy relative autonomy. Some of these challenges that he wants to address and is confident in solving involve the unity of the university while acknowledging the importance of the authority of each department. SNU in Pride is a vision to continue what the university has most successfully done in its history, while addressing the challenges that it faces.

The last vision SNU in Respect is linked with the desire to further globalize SNU. President Sung seeks to provide more study abroad opportunities for SNU students. In order to attract foreign scholars, President Sung hopes to offer exceptional conditions and designated “settling-in assistants” for each scholar. He calls for “everyone from faculty and staff to students to be fully on board for this effort to succeed.”

President Sung acknowledges the challenges that lay ahead during his four-year tenure as president of this prestigious institution. “Even in hard times, I will stay on the right course, in the face of political and financial influence, standing tall against various factions in society who may challenge us… I pledge to work hard to build on the tradition and innovate harmoniously to achieve greatness for the future of SNU.”

Written by OH Jung Eun, SNU English Editor, josefinaoh@snu.ac.kr
Reviewed by Eli Park Sorensen, SNU Professor of Liberal Studies, eps7257@snu.ac.kr
Proofread by Brett Johnson, SNU English Editor, morningcalm2@gmail.com