The 55th GSA election was a competition between ‘Ro’ and ‘Catch!’ Jo Jae-hee (Department of Industrial Engineering, student president candidate) and Baek Seung-min (Department of Applied Statistics, vice student president candidate) stood as ‘Ro’ candidates, and Kim Min-kyoung (Department of Media & Communication, student president candidate) and Kang Chan-wook (Department of Computer Science and Engineering, vice student president candidate) stood as ‘Catch!’ candidates. Jo Jae-hee was the vice student president for the College of Engineering and worked for the TF team on revising university regulations this year and served as the deputy head of the planning department for REBOOT, the 54th GSA. Baek Seung-min was the president of the Department of Applied Statistics and served as the chairman of the Central Audit Committee this year. Kim Min-kyoung was the student president of the College of Liberal Arts from last year to this year and worked as the Editor-in-Chief of The University Magazine Edit Committee. Kang Chan-wook was the president of the Club Union this year. Both candidates of ‘Catch!’ worked for the committee which coped with the tuition increase. Students could see their pledges through the pamphlet and Instagram (@student.konkuk). The main pledges of ‘Ro’ were expanding ‘The Green Zone’ to three days and the Konkuk Athlete Meet which the enrolled students and alumni enjoy together. ‘Catch!’ promised that they would request the repair of hazardous buildings and the improvement of old KU facilities.

          The KU media center (ABS, Konkuk University Newspaper, The Konkuk Bulletin) held a public hearing that verified the candidates’ abilities on the 1st floor of the Student Union Building on November 21, 2 p.m. Since it was in the open space, many students could see and get interested. ABS also broadcasted on their YouTube channel for the students who could not visit there. In part one, the KU media panels asked candidates about their experiences, issues on the campus, pledges, and human rights. The second part consisted of two discussions: a main topics discussion and a leadership discussion. The principal topics were ‘Student Society’, ‘Budget and Tuition’, ‘Campus Safety’, and ‘Employment and Entrepreneurship’, which are mentioned as important issues in KU. The KU media surveyed students’ questions to encourage students to get involved in advance and on-site. Students actively asked about the effectiveness of pledges, career verification, and past political activities.

          From November 14th to 27th, they performed the electioneering campaign. The electioneering members of ‘Ro’ wore blue jackets, and ‘Catch!’ wore orange jackets. They also shouted their slogans and campaign songs which were rewritten versions of the famous songs and carols around the Konkuk gate and Student Union Building. The 55th GSA election lasted for three days, from November 28th to 30th. Students could vote at their colleges and the Student Welfare Committee gave a laptop pouch to every student who voted. A mistake occurred at the College of Arts & Design where the number of voters was different from the number of votes list, and 615 votes were invalidated. In fierce competition, ‘Ro’ was elected as the 55th GSA with 59.67% of the votes.

By Cho Ha-min