Campaign poster of KIM Bo-mi, SNU Student President Elect
KIM Bo-mi (Dept. of Child Development Family Studies), the recently elected 58th Seoul National University student council president, has caught a lot of attention as the first lesbian to hold the position. Kim was elected into student presidency on November 19th with an overwhelming 86.8 percent (7646 votes) of voters’ approval.
Kim made her sexual orientation public during her election campaign at the policy conference held by the Student Election Commission on November 5th. In her statement, Kim expressed that coming out could help SNU become a more open community. Inspired by Apple CEO Tim Cook, Kim said “It is worth it if placing my own sexuality out in the public leads to the betterment of the community”. Furthermore, Kim stated that she has come out with the hopes of creating a community of individuals proud of their identities, “Starting with me, I hope that all the members of SNU will be comfortable in expressing their own voice and identity in their respective communities.”
Kim’s involvement in student government activities began in 2012 as the representative of her department. Last year, she was elected as vice president for the 57th student council. She recently resigned from her position in order to run for presidency. With the campaign slogan “A united front towards diversity”, Kim stated that she hopes to establish a “united movement towards a student community that recognizes each other’s differences and individual personalities”.
Kim’s coming out has been met with a high level of interest. The SNU student club for sexual minorities, QIS (Queers in SNU) welcomed her decision and expressed solidarity and support. SNU Journal, an independent student journal, published Kim’s statement online and for a period of time, its homepage website went down due to high volume of traffic.
Meanwhile, the 58th SNU student council election was held between November 16th and the 19th. Student council election results, in the past years, were marred as the voter turnout rate did not meet the 50% requirement. This year’s election is particularly notable as it was the first to meet the turnout requirement in 18 years without an extended voting period. Kim’s coming out may have played an important role in drawing interest towards the election. On her election to presidency, Kim stated, “I thank all those who have showed up to the polls and have supported me. In order to fulfill the pledges that I have made, I will work continuously to do my best.” The elected candidate positions (president and vice president) will be confirmed after a three-day grace period as stipulated by the election by-laws and Kim’s term of office begins on the first day of next month.
Written by Yun Hwan Chae, SNU English Editor, yunhwanchae@snu.ac.kr
Reviewed by Eli Park Sorensen, SNU Professor of Liberal Studies, eps7257@snu.ac.kr