GSA candidate team mate

Seoul Campus GSA Instagram(@khustu_58)

The 2026 Seoul Campus General Student Association (GSA) by-election will officially kick off on March 23 with the start of the campaign period. Following the invalidation of the previous GSA election due to voting fraud, this election is expected to serve as a crucial opportunity to restore the legitimacy of student governance.

By-election Schedule and Procedures

This by-election will be held after the previous election was invalidated due to voting fraud. On November 26, last year, allegations of electoral fraud that arose during the 58th Seoul Campus GSA vote counting process were confirmed to be true, and on December 4, the Expanded Operations Committee passed a motion to invalidate the election.

The Seoul Campus Central Election Management Committee has stated regarding follow-up measures related to the election, “We will hold the next GSA election after March of next year, once the 2026 academic calendar begins and the voter registry is finalized.”

Following the annulment of the election, the vacancy has been temporarily filled by the Emergency Response Committee (ERC), led by Hwang Hee-won, the president of the College of Humanities. The ERC stepped in for the GSA on January 1 this year and will hand over the authority if a new GSA president is elected this by-election.

The campaign period runs from March 23 to March 28. During this period, a public hearing session will be held on March 25. Voting will take place from March 30 to April 1. If the required 50% voter turnout is not met, the voting period may be extended by one additional day until April 2. If it remains after that, the final voting period will be extended until 6:00 p.m. on April 3.

GSA Candidate, Mate

For the GSA, a single candidate team, mate, is running under the slogan “Always by Kyung Hee’s side, your trusted mate.” The team is led by presidential candidate Shin, Chang-hoon from the Dept. of Public Administration, and vice-presidential candidate Han Soo-yeon from the Dept. of Hospitality Management.

Mate campaign pledges are divided into five categories: career development, solidarity, academic support, student rights, and campus events.

In the career development sector, the team aims to revitalize the dual-degree program with overseas universities and introduce a self-designed credit system that recognizes extracurricular activities.

Regarding solidarity, the team plans to collaborate with the Global Campus GSA on the Credit Eraser initiative. In addition, it seeks to partner with Hankook University of Foreign Studies and the University of Seoul to implement a Half-Price Monthly Rent Housing Project.

In terms of academic support, the team aims to disclose enrollment quotas by academic year during course registration, expand graduation awards, and mandate the public announcement of midterm grades.

To enhance student rights, the team pledges to disclose how tuition increases are spent and to revise election regulations to prevent proxy voting.

Finally, in campus events, the team promises to launch the Daedongje website, create a night market in the Hoegi commercial district, and promote the Kyung Hee marine plogging program.

Engage in the Election: Public Hearing Session

The public hearing session will be a key opportunity for students to actively participate in the election. The session scheduled for March 25 at 18:30 at Room 111 of the Orbis Hall, hosted by the Voice of University (V.O.U) Seoul branch, Daehak Jubo, and The Universtity Life.

The session includes a variety of segments such as the introduction to the election promises, the University media Q&A session and the student Q&A session. To ensure broader accessibility, the session will be live via V.O.U’s YouTube channel. This will enable more students to gain meaningful insights into the candidates and their platforms before voting.

Student governance is built on trust. This by-election is particularly important for restoring the loss of trust caused by voting fraud and preserving student governance at KHU. To be valid, the election requires a minimum voter turnout of 50%, making it a key test of whether students remain engaged and committed to participating in campus governance.