The Seoul Campus General Election officially began its campaign period on November 17. With numerous candidates registered, several constituencies have formed primary contests, intensifying the enthusiasm for student self-governance. The entire process of selecting the next student representatives—from public hearings to voting—will continue through the final week of November.

The 58th KHU Seoul Campus General Student Association Election Poster

Seoul Campus Election Campaigns Heat Up as Two Student Council Candidates Face Off

According to the Seoul Campus Central Election Management Committee, the student association election period has entered its full phase. After completing the eligibility screening and announcing the official candidate list on November 13, the election campaign period began on November 17. The campaign will run until November 22, followed by voting scheduled for November 24 to 26. If the voter turnout does not surpass the 50% threshold required for vote counting, the voting period may be extended to November 28.

Aligned with this schedule, two campaign headquarters—No. 1 KHU:EST and No. 2 KnowHow—have registered for the 58th General Student Association (GSA) election. KHU:EST is led by presidential candidate Jeong Jong-won from the Dept. of Hospitality Management and vice-presidential candidate Son Ye-ji from the Dept. of Media, both of whom have extensive experience in student self-governance, including roles in college and departmental student associations. Notably, Jeong Jong-won is currently serving as the Central Executive Committee Chairperson in the KnocKH, the current Seoul Campus GSA, underscoring his position as a key figure in student governance.

KHU:EST announced that it will focus on five core areas: education, facilities, exchange, rights, and housing. Its education pledges include introducing absolute grading for liberal arts courses and improving the overall academic system. In terms of facilities, the campaign proposes renovating the main stadium, the central library, and updating building names. The slate also highlights exchange initiatives aimed at fostering interaction between campuses and colleges, as well as rights-related proposals such as establishing a reserve forces tuition-exchange semester. Improving student housing conditions is another key component of their platform. 

Additionally, KHU:EST has proposed joint pledges with the General Student Club Association, the General International Student Association, and the Humanities College Committee, underscoring the importance of collaboration with major student self-governing bodies.

Candidate No. 2, KnowHow, presents a similarly experienced lineup. The campaign headquarters features presidential candidate Kong Seon-jin from the Dept. of Public Administration and vice-presidential candidate Sung Ji-chang from the Dept. of Pharmacy. Both candidates previously served as presidents of their respective college and departmental student associations, demonstrating experience in student self-governance comparable to that of the KHU:EST candidates. Notably, Kong Seon-jin is recognized as a key figure within student organizations, as she served as the campaign headquarters chairperson for KnocKH during its election.

For the election, KnowHow presented five core pledges. First, they promised to introduce a Credit Eraser System, which would allow students to delete up to six credits after completing five or more semesters. They also pledged to improve the housing environment for young people in Dongdaemun-gu through cooperation with the Dongdaemun-gu Office. 

In addition, the campaign proposed regularizing half-price mock TOEIC exams to strengthen students’ employment competitiveness. To normalize festival operations, they suggested pre-distributing admission stamps and introducing a Magic Pass system. Lastly, they emphasized the need for a student self-governance education program for all executives of student self-governing organizations to reinforce the foundation of student autonomy.

Beyond the GSA, A Surge of Candidates Register Across Student Bodies

Just as in the GSA election, numerous candidates are running in each college and autonomous organization, adding to the overall election fervor. In particular, the College of Human Ecology and the College of Pharmacy are scheduled to hold primary elections. In the College of Human Ecology, candidate No. 1, Liv-on, and candidate No. 2, Hadam, are competing. Likewise, the College of Pharmacy will hold a primary race between candidate No. 1, Phealing, and candidate No. 2, Promise.

Meanwhile, candidate registrations continue across various constituencies. As of November 18, according to the election management committees of each organization, a total of 10 units—including the College of Nursing, College of Liberal Arts, College of Fine Arts, College of Music, College of Natural Sciences, Autonomous Major Program, College of Dentistry, College of Korean Medicine, General International Student Association, and Humanities College Student Committee—are scheduled to hold uncontested elections.

Conversely, the status of elections remains uncertain in some units due to a lack of registered candidates or unclear election information. Elections have been canceled in the College of Business Administration, College of Social Sciences and Economics, College of Hotel and Tourism Management, and the General Student Club Federation because no candidates registered. Additionally, it remains difficult to confirm whether elections will proceed in the College of Medicine, the School of Dance, and the Student Minority Rights Committee, as none have released any candidate-related announcements.

Pre-event Question Submission, organized by The University Life, Voice of University Seoul Branch, and Daehak Jubo

From Public Hearings to Voting: Platform for Student Representative Selection 

Regarding the election, Seoul Campus students will have an opportunity to check candidates' qualifications before making their choices. A public hearing for the GSA candidates is scheduled for November 20. The hearing will feature candidate pledge introductions, debates between candidates, and Q&A sessions with media outlets, providing time to evaluate candidates' capabilities and attitudes.

For in-person participation, students can attend the hearing at Room B117 in Cheongwoon Hall at 7 p.m. on November 20 by registering through the Google Forms link available on the Instagram pages of The University Life, Voice of University (V.O.U.) Seoul Branch, and Daehak Jubo. Those unable to attend on-site can watch the event through V.O.U.’s live broadcast. Additionally, pre-submitted questions for the candidates will be accepted from November 18 until 6 p.m. on November 20 via Google Forms. This system allows students not only to observe the hearing but also to directly engage with the candidates.

Following the public hearing, the election schedule will move on to the voting period. Each campaign headquarters may continue campaign activities until 6 p.m. on November 22. Voting will be held over three days, beginning on Monday, November 24, and students may cast their ballots either through offline electronic voting or online voting until Wednesday, November 26. 

Notably, if voter turnout remains below 50% by 6 p.m. on the final voting day, the vote-counting period may be extended up to two times, with each extension lasting up to 24 hours. However, if the required turnout is still not achieved by Friday, November 28—making vote counting impossible—the election will be canceled in accordance with the Election Operation Rules. As a result, active participation from students is more crucial than ever.

The election to select student representatives for the 2026 academic year has officially begun. With multiple candidates registered—and even primary contests underway—the election atmosphere is rapidly intensifying. For the passion and determination of these candidates to translate into meaningful change on campus, it is now important for students to stay informed, show interest, and actively participate in the voting process.