The 21st presidential election of Chonnam National University (CNU) officially started last week. On September 8, a total of five candidates completed their candidate registration at the Gwangju Buk-gu Election Commission: Kim Youngman (School of Material Science and Engineering), Lee Keun-Bae (Medical Science), Song Jin-kyu (School of Architecture), Huh Min (Faculty of Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences), and Jung Sungtaek (Medical Science). The candidates will continue to canvass for the elections until September 22.
    The upcoming presidential elections, scheduled for September 23, are drawing attention as they will re-implement the direct presidential election system that has been demanded by many of the university members for the first time in eight years. CNU had introduced a direct election system in 1988 but revised its school regulations in 2012 with an indirect election system. Voters will include professors, students, staff, instructors, and assistants, and the voting reflection percentage varies by position. The first round of voting will be held online from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and if there is no elected candidate, a runoff election will be held from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the same day.
    Kim Min-a (Sophomore, Dept. of English Language and Literature) expressed her expectations for the presidential election as a student. “I hope the new president will respond quickly to students' demands and try to maintain a good educational environment in the face of difficulties such as the recent Covid-19 situation.” Meanwhile, a website for the presidential election is available for further information.

By Lee So-hyun, Guest Reporter