Nine universities including GIST voice opposition
to the cancellation of the professional research personnel program
GIST, KAIST, Seoul National University and six other Universities published a statement in opposition to the proposed abolition of professional research personnel.
GIST, KAIST, D-GIST, UNIST, POSTECH, Seoul National University, Sungkyunkwan University, Yonsei University, and Hanyang University are all opposed to the Ministry of Defense"s proposal to cancel the current professional research personnel system.
In the statement, the universities noted: “Over the past 40 years, we have advanced and played a major role in the national economy through our advanced research workforce. The abolition of professional research personnel system must be withdrawn.”
They also stated the system has been utilized as a systematic inducement for encouraging students to select science and technology research as a career choice.
They pointed out that the Ministry of Defense wanted to abolish the system due to a decrease in manpower for military service and that this is a short-sighted approach that only considers one quantitative aspects of human resources without taking into account the long-term negative impact it will have on the country"s economy.
They also stated, “Unlike the past quantitative military resources, national defense in the modern era can be secured with state-of-the-art technologies and weapons systems. Therefore, cultivating excellent workforce in science and technology is the fundamental solutions to securing Korea"s national defense.”