Gyeongsang National University (GNU) announced on the 24th that Professor Kwon Jin-hoe (59, in photo) has been officially appointed as the 12th president. According to the university, Professor Kwon’s appointment as president was approved by the State Council on the 18th and was confirmed by the President on the 21st.
Professor Kwon, the newly appointed president, was elected as the top candidate in the election for the 12th president of Gyeongsang National University held in February. His term as president will be until June 23, 2028, lasting for four years.
After graduating from the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Seoul National University in 1987, President Kwon earned a master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from KAIST in 1989 and a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from KAIST in 1993.
He joined Gyeongsang National University as a professor of Aerospace Mechanical Engineering in 1997 after working as a senior research engineer at Samsung Aerospace Industries (currently KAI). He has served as the Vice Dean of the College of Engineering and as the Director of Planning. Currently, he is a professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the School of Aerospace and Aviation.
President Kwon has held various leadership positions, including Chairman of the Korea Composite Materials Society, member of the Ministry of Education’s Education Civil Servants Personnel Commission, and Acting Chairman of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport’s Aviation and Railroad Accident Investigation Commission. He is currently active as the Co-Chair of the Aerospace Policy Forum and as a member of the Preparatory Committee for the Construction of Aerospace and Aviation Complex Cities.
In the field of education, he was the first recipient of the ‘Pioneering Lecture Award’ at Gyeongsang National University, and in the field of research, he has been selected as a member of the ‘Pioneering Human Forest’ seven times.
President Kwon also successfully attracted the first Leading Research Center (ERC) to Gyeongsang National University. He has supervised the graduation of over 140 master’s and doctoral students and has served as the person in charge of major national projects such as the Specialization Project for Local Universities (CK) and the Enhancing Innovation Capacity Project for Local Universities (NURI).
President Kwon stated, “It is an honor and a privilege to take on the role of president of a nationally prestigious university with a long history and tradition, but at the same time, I feel the weight of an important historical mission.” He further expressed his commitment to faithfully carry out the promised measures to bring about “warm changes” to our university without betraying the support and expectations of its members during his four-year term.