Korean Council for University Education

Korean Council for
University Education

Abbreviation	KCUE
Formation	April 1982
Type	Association of university presidents
Purpose	Post-secondary education
Headquarters	Seoul, South Korea
Region served	South Korea
Membership	Presidents of all (198) South Korean universities
Chairwoman Secretary-General	Bae Yong Lee Chong Yul Park
Main organ	General Assembly
Website	http://english.kcue.or.kr

The Korean Council for University Education (KCUE) is a private association of four-year higher educational institutions in the Republic of Korea intended to promote cooperation between universities and represent their interests, particularly regarding university autonomy from state regulation, to the government. It is comparable in some respects to organizations such as the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK), or the Japan Association of National Universities (JANU). The KCUE is unique, however, in that the presidents of all South Korean universities, public and private, are required by law to hold membership.

The KCUE was founded in 1982 and legally consolidated in 1984 during the later period of authoritarian rule in South Korea. It was largely intended to placate growing demands from universities for greater autonomy from a centralized education system that was strictly regulated by the Ministry of Education. During the first several years of its existence, however, the KCUE had little semblance of autonomy from or influence over the authoritarian government at the time and was able to achieve few of its objectives.

With the beginning of substantial democratization in South Korea in 1987-1988 and the subsequent, gradual liberalization of the higher education system, the KCUE was increasingly able to accomplish its original purposes and expand its functions, particularly in research and training of university staff. By the mid-1990s it had taken on significant responsibilities related to university evaluations and the university admissions system previously under the exclusive purview of the Ministry of Education.

The KCUE is nominally controlled by a General Assembly composed of the presidents of all member universities. The General Assembly elects a ten to twenty-member Board of Trustees and a Chairman (currently Ewha Womans University President Bae Yong Lee) that make most executive decisions. The Board of Trustees elects a Secretary-General (currently Kyungpook National University Professor Chong Yul Park) that oversees day-to-day operations of the KCUE. The organization's activities are mainly funded by the Ministry of Education and mandatory membership fees from universities.