Candidates of the 2025 Seoul Campus General Student Association (GSA) by-election officially launch their campaigns on March 17. This election carries particular significance, as the GSA election conducted last year in November was declared invalid due to a lack of registered candidates. With the vacancy still remaining today, the election presents an opportunity for Kyung Hee University (KHU) students to select the GSA president on their own.

KHU Seoul Campus Entrance

About the Election

This election is a by-election. The 57th Seoul Campus GSA election, originally scheduled for last November, was canceled due to a lack of registered candidates. As a result, the 56th Seoul Campus GSA KHUBE declared the election invalid on November 14, citing Articles 26 and 28 of Seoul Campus Election Rules (ER).

The vacancy has been temporarily filled by the Emergency Response Committee (ERC), led by Shin Ha-kyun, the president of the College of Politics and Economics. 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.

For this GSA election, only one election campaign headquarters KnocKH has been registered. The name combines knock and Kyung Hee, indicating knocking on the future of KHU. The team is led by Eom Gyu-min from the Dept. of Business Administration as the presidential candidate and Heo Ye-dam from the School of Global Eminence as the vice-presidential candidate.

KnocKH unveiled its election promises under five categories: enhancing student communication, ensuring transparent financial management, expanding career development opportunities, improving administrative convenience, and promoting fairness and flexibility in lectures. The full details of the promises can be found on KnocKH’s official Instagram page, @knockhu_57.

KnocKH banner

The official election period began on March 17. According to the 57th KHU Seoul Campus GSA Election Notification, the candidate must meet several requirements to become a candidate, including not holding other positions, securing over 500 recommendations, passing a qualification evaluation, and more. 

Qualified candidates are permitted to campaign from March 17 to 22, during which a public hearing session will be held on March 19. Voting will take place from March 24 to 26, and if the required 50% voter turnout is not met, the voting period may be extended by one additional day, until March 27 in accordance with the vote counting requirements.

Significance of the Election

Electing a president for the GSA holds significant importance, as it demonstrates active student autonomy at KHU. Recently, South Korean universities have shown a decline in student participation in GSA. In 2025, GSA in 7 out of 16 major universities in Seoul are managed by the ERCs. These universities include KHU, Yonsei University, Korea University, Sookmyung Women's University, Hanyang University, Kwangwoon University, and Dongguk University (DGU).

This trend reflects a decline in student interest in university affairs. A GSA operated under an ERC is one of two cases: when no candidates register for the election or when voter turnout fails to meet the required threshold. In particular, DGU has failed to elect a GSA since 2022 due to a lack of candidates, underscoring the potential consequences of indifference.

Under these circumstances, this election presents an opportunity to reestablish a GSA led by an elected president, allowing KHU students to take a more active role in shaping their university experience.

Exercise the Right: Engage in the Election

The public hearing session will be a key opportunity for students to actively participate in the election. The session will be held on March 19 at 18:30 at Crown Concert Hall, organized by the Voice of University Seoul branch and Daehak Jubo. The session includes segments such as the introduction to the election promises, the University media query session, and the student query session.

To ensure broader accessibility, the session will be broadcast live via Voice of University’s YouTube. This may allow more students to gain meaningful insights into the candidates and their promises before casting their votes.

Crown Concert Hall

Voter participation is essential for a valid election. According to the Seoul Campus ER, votes are only valid if the turnout exceeds 50%. This means that even though KnocKH is running as the sole GSA candidate, the ERC system will remain if voter turnout fails to meet the required threshold. Therefore, active participation in voting is essential to reestablish the GSA.

Unlike the last election, a candidate team has emerged this time to run for the presidency, demonstrating the KHU community’s willingness to shape its university life independently. While the election process and a candidate willing to lead the GSA are in place, the remaining task now lies with the students—to stay engaged and participate in the voting process.