A RECURRING issue faced by Yonsei University’s student body is the unstable nature of its student councils. Such instability is a corollary of students’ lack of interest in school elections. Occupied with schoolwork, internships, part-time jobs or extracurricular activities, students fail to vote during the elections. As a result, Yonsei’s 57th General Student Council Election last 2021 underwent a double-nullification and the formation of the Emergency Exigency Committee.

Electoral rules

   Framing the elections is the Bylaws on Yonsei University Election and General Student Vote—a guidebook with over a hundred pages and six chapters of rules and regulations first created in 1991. Per the guidebook, at least 50% of the student body are required to cast their ballot. If the voter turnout fails to reach the required percentage within the election’s first three days, a fourth day shall be allotted. According to Article 102 of the guidebook, if the percentage is still not reached, all casted votes are nullified, and a second round of elections with the same candidates shall take place. A final failure to reach the required voter turnout will call for the overall nullification of the elections and the establishment of an emergency committee. This committee works as a temporary student council, created by the Central Election Committee[1], tasked with administrative functions without specific advocacies. In fact, the 2016 to 2018 elections’ consistent low voter turn-out resulted in the necessity for an emergency committee during those two years.

2021’s 57th General Student Council Elections

   The 2021 57th General Student Council Elections saw a string of re-elections and countless official announcements from the Central Election Committee, reflecting the severity of the student body’s indifference. Ahead of the designated voting period, candidate Uni was disqualified in November 2021 for receiving three formal warnings by the election committee on the grounds of an ineligibility complication[2], noncompliance with the set marketing consultant agreement[3], and the airing of false information. This left students with only one option—the remaining candidate Beyond. The first day of the elections, November 23, presented a disappointing 16.46% voter turnout[4]. Day two, November 24, added up to an overall sum of 26.73%, referring to a 62.39% increase in votes compared to the previous day. The final day of elections, November 25, ended with a mere 38.14% total voter turnout. As per the guidebook, elections extended to a fourth day, concluding the 57th General Student Council elections with an overall voter turnout of 41.07%. Each college saw varying degrees of voter turnouts, with the largest percentage being from the College of Theology with 62.06% and the lowest from the Global Leaders College (GLC) with a 15.30% turnout. On November 27 the Central Election Committee announced the election’s nullification due to an “insufficient voter turnout.” This was followed by another announcement for re-elections, with a second round on Dec. 2 to 4, 2021.

   A second round offers a blank slate, all previous votes are discarded, and students are asked to vote once more. Nonetheless, giving another opportunity to vote was not enough of an incentive. The first day of the second election round, December 2, was met with a 20.16% turnout, raising hopes. However, day two, December 3, added up to an overall sum of 25.59%, referring to a 26.95% increase in votes compared to the previous day. To scale, this 24-hour increase was 79.34% less than the rise seen in round one. Day three, December 4, accumulated a 30.11% turnout and subsequently required a fourth day in the election process, but the additional day only produced a total voter turnout of 32.09%. The December election’s overall results proved significantly less effective than the November election’s 41.07%. The successive failures of both election rounds indicate the outdated and inadequate nature of the election system. The lack of sufficient votes once again called for the election’s nullification on December 6 and quickly thereafter, the General Student Council Emergency Exigency Committee was created.

Repercussions of a failed election

   The emergency committee was established with the unofficial inauguration of Park Hyun-min (’19, Dept. of Public Admin.) and Park Jin-hyuk (’18, UIC, Science, Technology, and Policy) as chair and co-chair, respectively, due to their shared involvement in student governments. Chairman Park was the former co-chair of the previous 56th general student council, Switch, whilst Co-Chairman Park was Underwood International College’s (UIC) 13th council president. The emergency committee carries many of the same responsibilities as an elected committee, but without the official label. The committee is solely referred as the “2022 Emergency Committee” instead of the “57th Student Council.” The informal title coupled with the unofficial transfer of authority causes several points of concern, such as poor preparation due to a lack of time prior to their inauguration. Running candidates usually require months to develop action plans, but the emergency committee is not given the same luxury. As a result, they are prone to be disorganized and inefficient.

   The fundamental difference between an official student council and an emergency committee is its lack of political perspective or opinion. Emergency committees are not allowed to carry specific advocacies for the school, which impedes them from exercising full control of their authority. Student council parties are elected by voicing their plans and policies with a narrowed focus on particular campus issues. A committee may prioritize the improvement of a “barrier-free” campus for disabled students over the renovation of several school infrastructures, and the student body ought to choose which issue they consider more pressing and vote accordingly. Once elected, the council’s main role is to advocate for the student body in matters between the school administration by relaying student requests and opinions. In contrast to an elected committee, the emergency committee does not carry the jurisdiction to do any of this. Due to its inability to accommodate students’ partiality, the committee’s duty is solely administrative. They remain as a spokesperson for the students on behalf of the school. The committee's lack of political school stance defeats its fundamental purpose: give the student body a voice. 

Behind the lack of votes

   Despite the downsides presented by the emergency committee, many students remain uninterested to vote during the general student council elections. The Yonsei Annals reached out to members of the student body to understand what lies behind the low-voter turnouts. 

   An anonymous Korean student, Student A (Soph., GLC, Cultural Media)[5], only cast her ballot during her first semester at Yonsei. She told the Annals how she fails to see the council’s effect on her daily life as a Yonsei student before adding, “I heard that previous student councils didn’t even fulfill their promises. I just don’t see the point of voting.” In addition to the council’s lack of influence, she explained her indifference towards the elections as a result of their “uninteresting” policies.

   Voting in the elections requires a modicum of prior research on the candidates, such as their past experiences and future planned policies for the school. Student A explained, “I don’t have the time to do all that reading and most of it is in Korean, anyways.” Although it is provided by the Central Election Committee, English-translated materials for international students remain significantly less accessible than its Korean counterpart. In fact, Student A said that this may be the reason why voter turnouts in GLC, a college that primarily consists of international and overseas-Korean students, are so low. Student A proceeded to mention that her lack of knowledge about the nominees may cause her to vote poorly and jeopardize the elections more than if she were to not vote at all.

   Sender Batnyagt (Fresh., UIC, Underwood Div.) also mentioned the lack of opportunities to learn about the election candidates, especially for students living on the International Campus. Candidates often host speeches and campaign activities at the Sinchon Campus while rarely visiting the International Campus other than for the semesterly election debates. Batnyagt told the Annals, “I don’t really hear much about [the election candidates] unless my residential assistant sends promotional material to the group chat.” Even with the candidates' attempts to grow a social media following on Instagram, a lack of mutual followers will ultimately lead to a lack of exposure. Batnyagt confessed that the topic of the general student council elections rarely, if ever, comes to the surface during conversations with her social circle in Yonsei. She believes that the lack of conversation has influenced her lack of interest in the election process and added, “No one talks about the elections so I rarely think about it, too.”

   Similarly, Indra Boldsukh (Fresh., Dept. of Political Science & Int. Studies) did not vote during the 57th General Student Council Elections. A lack of interest, along with insufficient information on the election candidates all tie into why she and thousands of other students failed to participate in the elections. Boldsukh added that COVID-19 may have been a notable factor for last semester’s nullified elections as online classes virtually made the student body’s school life obsolete. “We did not have a physical reminder that the elections were happening, so unless you were active on Yonsei’s social media page, most students did not even know about the elections,” explained Boldsukh to the Annals. When asked about what the Central Election Committee could do to bolster interest and participation in the upcoming elections, she expressed how an increase in physical campaign promotions would improve voter turnouts. Boldsukh said, “[The committee] should personally explain to us why it is important to vote. Otherwise, no one would know.”

A flawed system

   Ostensibly, the cause of Yonsei’s history of election nullifications could be the lack of interest of its student body, but such disinterest proves to stand from several issues within the institute’s system. The election guidebook, for example, is over three decades old. Despite major revisions throughout the years, the most recent change was executed six years ago, and the one before that—ten. Yonsei’s growing record of nullified elections has been a constant point of concern for the Central Election Committee, but no real change has been made within the system. How many failures will it take to compel a comprehensive reexamination of the guidebook, and by extension—the entire election system? The Annals sought for a definitive answer and requested interviews from both the Central Election Committee and the 2022 Emergency Committee, but multiple attempts for a comment were left unanswered. The lack of response proves the student’s concerns: Yonsei’s student government is too disorderly and it might seem as if no one is looking for solutions to fix the flaws in the election system.

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   Regardless of where the fault lies, the fact of the matter remains that Yonsei University’s general student council is at risk. Low interest in the elections reflects a low interest in the council, and this may compromise the council with the permanent diminishment of their influence and authority. The loss of student government relevancy benefits no one as it veritably deteriorates the ties between the school administration and the student body. And, only time will reveal the fate of Yonsei University’s general student council.

[1] Central Election Committee: A panel of students that are tasked with administering the entire election process. 

[2] Ineligibility complication: When an individual is not considered eligible to run for the student council, according to the electoral rulebook.

[3] Marketing consultant agreement: A binding contract between one party and a marketing team.

[4] Yonsei University General Student Council Central Election Committee

[5] Student A preferred to remain anonymous for the protection of their private information.