Interview with the 54th KUBS Student Council, Horizon

"We want to make a good culture and pass it on to the next Student Council"

In the 54th KUBS Student Presidential Election held online from 0:00 on March 17^th to 18:00 on March 19^th, the campaign "Horizon" was elected with a final turnout of 21.40% and an approval rating of 90.02%. We met with Dongin Choi (Business ’21), the 54th Student President of KUBS, and Yoonjin Oh (KUBS ‘20), the Vice Student President, to hear their thoughts on winning the election and future plans.

Q1. It has been about 3 months since the election of the Student President of KUBS. Tell me about the "initial determination" you had of the time when you decided to run for the student president.

Student president Dongin Choi(hereinafter referred to as Choi): Hello, I am Dongin Choi, and I was elected student president of KUBS in March. I think the important value of the student council elections these days is 'return to pre-COVID-19', but I had a slightly different idea. As COVID-19 continued for more than two years, people who knew well about previous student associations and events gradually disappeared and new students flowed in. Then, I thought that I should try something new with people who have never been in college, rather than going back to the past. I ran for student president because I'm convinced that it's a good time to change the wrongs of the past traditions and try out innovative and diverse things.
Vice Student President Yoonjin Oh(hereinafter referred to as Oh): Hello, I'm Vice Student President Yoonjin Oh. I was interested in student society, but I had no experience in student council when I was in 1st and 2nd grade. Since the next student council usually came out of this student council, what I could do without experience in the student council was "running," and I ran with the student president because we had similar thoughts.

Q2. The name of this student council is "Horizon," is there a special reason why you chose it?

Choi: "Horizon" is related to the three core values pursued by this student council: "Innovation," "Horizontality," and "Openness." Watching the sun rise and fall over the horizon, I thought of the first value of innovation. This is because the space where the old things go down and the new sun comes up, and the place where "extinction" and "creation" take place is the horizon. And it has a vast image that doesn't know where the end is, so it is suitable for the value of 'horizontality’ and ‘openness.'

Q3. What is the biggest change since the election of "Horizon"?

Oh : I've been thinking about why people aren't interested in the student community, and why it's hard to get engaged in student council. Due to the existing structure of the student council, it was difficult to enter the student council if you did not join the student council in the first grade, and there is a burden of having to work throughout your term. Also, the entry barrier is higher because there are fixed titles of director and member of the branch and the hierarchy is clear. Therefore, since the period of election headquarters, we have emphasized "horizontality" and "openness" in our group. And in order to structurally change the organization of the student council, we introduced a "recruitment by semester" system.
Choi : Usually, if the structure of the student council is a system that has a director of a branch, members of the branch, and had to spend time during the term even if it was unwanted, the Horizon would recruit 3 times, dividing 1 year into 1st semester, vacation, and 2nd semester. It is conducted regardless of their grade, gender, age, student status, etc. and does not select directors and members based on the existing eight branches, and selects teams of special role : Finance, Communication & Design, and Business planning and Operation. At the beginning of each quarter, the project manager (PM) and staff will be decided. Anyone can become a "PM" and carry out tasks autonomously, and we aimed to operate very openly so that everyone would put in their efforts because it would be worth it in the long run, not just in a single task, and it would help the students’ career, too.

Q4. What is your most important pledge in the student council?

Choi: Basically, I think each person has different perspectives of important value, so I don't think we can conclude that one is more important. Personally, I'm interested in starting up a business, so Hackathon or Case Competition, where I'm in charge of PM, is important, but for others, it can be "preparing for the festival" or "academic seminar." Since the business that everyone manages is different, not one is more important, but everything is important. Only different priorities. These thoughts seem to be related to the horizontality and openness that the student council is going for. With one leader in charge of everything, it is difficult for the members and the leader. I believe the organization where each leader takes the lead and carries out their own business responsibly will be much healthier, and that will increase interest in the student community. 
 

Q5. Is there anything you want to improve at KUBS?

Oh: When I ask myself, "Are our students making good use of the great infrastructure at KUBS?" I don't think that's the case. Although all the business school spaces are open, there are many students only in the lounge or cafe, and the building still feels empty. Accordingly, the student council is also conducting the KUBS Onboarding Challengers. KUBS Onboarding Challengers is a program that helps new students adapt well to and actively enjoy school life in a somewhat chaotic and disconnected university life due to the COVID-19. Participants will pay a certain amount of deposit and perform various challenges related to KUBS, and only students who have achieved all of the challenges will be eligible for a refund. We hope that KUBS Onboarding Challengers will be activated so that everyone can use the school without any burden, and it would be good if the KUBS administrative office can actively help us to make good use of the excellent infrastructure.

Q6. What kind of student council do you want to create for the rest of your term?
 Choi: I want to play a role in passing on good cultures and habits to the next generation rather than 'I will complete something!' during my remaining term. Since I have the idea of "passing on the flow of change," I am thinking about how the next student council can be launched well and how the desirable changes I think can be continued.

Oh: I hope it's a year when it's known as 'A different student council has started.' I want to persuade students of the three values that are fundamentally proposed by "Horizon", and create a student council that they recognize that we really wanted to realize these values.

Q7. Please say something to the students who will read your interview.

Choi : Thank you for reading through the interview. If you are a student who was interested reading this, I am sure you are a promising person who is interested in the student council. Recruitment for the second semester of the student council "Horizon" will be held at the end of August, so please check out our Instagram account (@kubs_jps)! (laughs)