On the 26th, an interim board meeting was held, but despite multiple votes, the appointment failed. “We will re-advertise as soon as possible.”
The selection of the next KAIST president, which has been delayed for over a year with three candidates, has been canceled.
The KAIST board held an interim meeting on the afternoon of the 26th at the KAIST Kim Jaechul AI Graduate School in Yangjae Campus but failed to elect a new president.
Since last March, none of the three candidates—current KAIST president Lee Kwang-hyung, Kim Jung-ho, professor of electrical and electronic engineering at KAIST, and Lee Yong-hoon, former UNIST president—obtained a majority of votes.
It’s known that 14 board members attended the meeting, excluding candidate President Lee.
According to the KAIST board voting procedures, if no candidate obtains a majority in the first vote, a runoff is held between the two with the most votes. Board members can abstain.
If no candidate receives a majority in the second vote, a vote for or against the top candidate is conducted. The vote fails if the opposition is in the majority.
It appears that many board members abstained from voting, and even for the final candidate, the opposition was in the majority.
With the vote failing, KAIST will start the process of selecting candidates from the beginning again. It is expected to take at least three months as a new Presidential Candidate Selection Committee must be formed. The terms of five KAIST board members also expire today, which may take more time if new board members are elected.
Current KAIST President Lee Kwang-hyung will maintain his position until a new president is appointed. His term ended in February last year, so he will continue in the role for more than a year.
The government stated it would start the re-advertisement process immediately. Lee Jun-bae, director of future talent policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, “We will start the re-advertisement process as quickly as possible, and it won’t take long.”
KAIST Chairperson Kim Myung-ja said, “KAIST is performing its role well without any lame duck issues,” but also noted, “We will make efforts to achieve a result as quickly as possible for the future of the institution.”