KAIST students, professors join forces on suicide problem

In the wake of four student suicides at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, or KAIST, internal and external sources of Korea’s leading science and technology university are scrambling to find solutions.

KAIST will close classes for two days from Monday for professors and students to discuss countermeasures. The school’s board of directors has also convened a meeting and the National Assembly has summoned KAIST President Suh Nam-pyo.

The university set Monday and Tuesday as a mourning period for the four students who took their lives. Lectures will not be given over the period and more than 10,000 university students and 580 professors will have discussions at their respective departments on matters facing the school, including suicide.

Based on opinions collected from the discussions, a meeting between the president and students will be held Tuesday afternoon.

The KAIST professors association is conducting a survey on identifying the cause of the suicides and find solutions, an association source said.

In an unprecedented move, an emergency extraordinary meeting of the KAIST board of directors will be convened Friday by Oh Myeong. President Suh, who is also an ex officio director, will explain countermeasures at the meeting that he presented after the suicides this year.

Proposed actions include the scrapping of a system to give scholarships based on grades, improvement of lectures conducted in English, and more counselors for students. Suh`s fate is known to be excluded from the agenda, however.

The National Assembly will also discuss the matter Monday next week. The parliamentary committee on education, science and technology will summon Suh to grill him on the causes and solutions to the problem. With the New Progressive Party urging his resignation, lawmakers are expected to battle over his fate.

Over the weekend, professors and graduates of the school as well as undergraduates posted opinions on the student bulletin board. A mathematics professor said, “I believe the resignation of President Suh will benefit all. He seems to have missed the opportunity to resign gracefully.”

“Outstanding students should be given more scholarships but additional scholarships for such students have disappeared and tuition has risen beyond those of private universities. This is because the school lost tens of millions of dollars through reckless investment in funds and constructed many buildings.”

In contrast, an industrial design major who is on a leave of absence said in a post titled “Cheer up, President Suh Nam-pyo!” “How many students at KAIST receive a grade-point average of less than 3.0 despite their upmost efforts, excluding those from ordinary or special high schools that provide no special education on math and science?” adding, “I agree with President Suh, who stressed a sense of responsibility on tuition.”

KAIST students get a tuition waiver if their grade-point average remains 3.0 or over but must pay tuition if their grade falls below the figure.

mhjee@donga.com