The controversy over the planned merger between Chungnam National University (CNU) and Hanbat National University (HNU), which arose on February 16, has become a hot issue among students. There are still some students, however, who are not familiar with or misunderstand the proposal. For those students, this article explains why the plan is controversial and discusses the confrontation between students and the university.

● The Background of the Controversy

The controversy began on February 16, when the first news on the merger was published in a local newspaper. According to the article, the two universities have been discussing a merger since last January as a way to halt their decline in university competitiveness due to the sharp drop in the school-age population and the outflow of outstanding human resources to the Seoul metropolitan area. They are hoping to accept students at the merged university in March 2024 following an application to the Ministry of Education this year. In this respect, there seems to be no controversy; however, the biggest problem was that this decision was made arbitrarily by the universities. The proposed merger provoked a fierce backlash from students, as it was decided unilaterally without any prior notification, and without following any step-by-step procedure to obtain the consent of students and faculty, .

● The Students’ Backlash against the Merger

On February 16―the day of the initial newspaper report, the student council asked CNU to clarify the facts and announce its official position. The university thereupon sent the president's statement to students by e-mail the next day, stating that the article was partially untrue and that the proposal was an important consideration for the future of CNU. It ultimately meant that the university was planning the merger without obtaining consent.

The students' protest soon led to action. On February 17, a petition against the anti-democratic merger was posted on the Cheong Wa Dae website, and 2,785 people signed it. On February 18, the student council issued a statement saying, “We oppose the signing of an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) to discuss the merger between the two universities.” Furthermore, a survey of current students asking whether they supported or opposed the merger found 98.25% (4,651 people) of the respondents (4,734 people) indicating their “Opposition to the discussion of the merger itself.”

According to the survey results, there are several reasons students are against the merger. Students are not opposed to it simply because it is anti-democratic. First, the merger might not have the desired effect, as illustrated by previously merged national universities that have not shown any remarkable results even after several years. Second, if two universities located in the same region merge, the boundaries of the campuses become ambiguous. Last, if two universities with different entrance requirements merge, the efforts of some current and transfer students to enter one of the universities will have been meaningless.

Putting all these opinions together, the student council issued a joint statement and held silent protests from February 28 to March 8, requesting the university guarantee students’ rights to know and choose. On March 8, the protest ended with the university promising to respect students’ rights, and since then the student council has made no more noise about the merger. However, on March 28, current students who oppose the merger created an official corporate personality group called Chungnam National University’s Student Emergency Action against the Merger.

● For Whom the Merger Proceeds?

The conflict between students and the university is ongoing. What is worse, it is escalating. Comments denouncing the university and the president are flooding the anonymous university online community Every Time. In the comment sections of the news articles dealing with the merger, students from CNU and HNU are insulting each other. In sum, the plan was expected to foster harmony between the students at both universities but is instead sowing discord.

To handle the conflict, both the student council and the university need to provide students with information and continuous communication, and most of all, students must pay attention to this major issue and pitch in to help extinguish the flames of discord.