The National Council of Professors and Researchers for Democratic and Equal Society (minju p’yŏngdŭng sahoe rŭl wihan chŏn’guk kyo’su yŏn’guja hyŏbŭihoe, min’gyohyŏp [McCune-Reischauer]; minju pyeongdeung sahoe-reul wihan jeonguk gyosu yeonguja hyeobuihoe, mingyohyeop [Revised Romanization]), formed on June 26, 1987, is an organization of professors and researchers established for the democratization of Korea. The members have continuously engaged in struggles for social democratization and democratization of academic institutions. On June 26, 2019, the organization expanded its membership from regular faculty members to encompass all academic researchers, and changed its name from the National Council of Professors for Democratization (minjuhwa rŭl wihan chŏn’guk kyo’su hyŏbŭihoe [McCune-Reischauer]; minjuhwa-reul wihan jeonguk gyosu hyeobuihoe [Revised Romanization]) to its present name.

History

“Democratization of Society and Universities, 1987–1997”

Despite the authoritarian oppression and forced dismissals during the Park Chung Hee and Chun Doo Hwan regimes, the intellectuals movement firmly sustained the spirit of advocating for university autonomy and social critique, which eventually bloomed during the Democratization Movement of 1987. In response to Chun Doo Hwan’s repressive public security measures and the April 13 measure to retain the old constitution (4.13 hoheonjochi), professors nationwide issued declarations on the state of the nation at various universities, with 1,513 individuals from 48 universities participating. Such anger and determination were channeled into the monumental June Democratic Uprising of 1987, leading elder and established professors along with younger, junior faculty in their thirties and forties to establish the National Council of Professors for Democratization.

Following its inception, the Council significantly contributed to guiding the surge of democratization across various fields toward a transformative mass movement. In a nutshell, as an organization of the intellectual movement, the Council profoundly influenced all social movements, including citizens’ movements, labor, the impoverished, and other popular movements, leading the consolidation of democracy in Korea thereafter.

“Neoliberalism and Democratization Movement, 1997–2007”

However, as the financial crisis of 1997 unfolded and neoliberalism took hold under the pretext of IMF bailout programs, the activities of the Council somewhat dwindled. In particular, this contraction was closely linked to the plight of member professors, who had been supporting the democratic and popular movements, which worsened due to the neoliberal education policies of the “University Establishment Standards Principle” (daehak seollip junchik jueui) announced by the Kim Young-sam government in 1995. The people’s aspiration for democratization led to the launch of the Kim Dae-jung government, dubbed the “People’s Government,” but the outcome was a massive spread of neoliberalism throughout society. Furthermore, during the so-called “Participatory Government” period under President Roh Moo-hyun, differences of opinion among the members of the Council somewhat widened, leading to challenges in the Council’s activities.

However, even under these difficult conditions, the Council actively carried out various actions to block neoliberal economic, social, and educational policies, continuing its role as a leading organization in the intellectual movement of our society.

“Democratic Retreat and the Council, 2008–2017”

During the conservative regression period under the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations, the lives of the people deteriorated again. Shortly after taking office, the Lee government agreed to fully open the domestic market to U.S. beef imports, triggering nationwide resistance. The Council started a nationwide petition among professors, resulting in a statement signed by 1,008 professors, as a first step in resisting the anti-democratic measures, such as media control and the toxic revision of the Assembly and Demonstration Act by the Lee government.

Following the Yongsan disaster in 2009, which claimed many lives of squatters and police officers, the Council collaborated with progressive civic organizations to form a national emergency response committee, pioneering struggles for the uncovering of truth, the punishment of those responsible, and a demand for an apology from the president, while simultaneously striving to present rational and progressive solutions to urban redevelopment and poverty issues in solidarity with the people. The Council aimed to expose the fallacies of the destructive Four Major Rivers Project (sadaegang saeop) and advance the movement to block it beyond environmental activism, transforming it into a political campaign. Faced with the forceful ratification of the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement, the Council actively joined the national movement headquarters and fervently participated in the discursive struggles to formulate opposing arguments as a group of experts and intellectuals. Through this, the Council endeavored to realize the intrinsic function of an intellectual organization by socializing progressive alternatives within society and producing policies.

The Park Geun-hye administration that succeeded Lee Myung-bak was marred from the outset by suspicions of election manipulation, including incidents such as the National Intelligence Service’s online comments scandal. The Council participated in the emergency state affairs meetings right after the election and subsequently concentrated its efforts on criticizing the incompetence and lack of accountability of the Park administration. The Sewol Ferry tragedy in 2014, along with the government’s failures in rescue operations and obstruction of truth-finding, exemplified the apex of ineptitude and unaccountability, leading to despairing exclaims of “Is this even a country?” The Council engaged in a variety of solidarity movements empathizing with the pain of the bereaved while striving to halt the regressing democracy under the Park administration. The Council also opposed the privatization of the public sector in healthcare and education, the flexibilization of labor, the expansion of irregular work, and the suppression of labor as exemplified by the Ssangyong Motor incident, by standing in solidarity with the people and supporting their struggles. Additionally, the Council continued activities to prevent the collapse of the academic ecosystem caused by the privatization of higher education and the forcible restructuring by the Ministry of Education, and countered the anti-democratic mismanagement of the Park government, such as the national history textbooks issue and the comfort women agreement, by working hard to expose their injustices. Finally, in conjunction with the outraged citizens over the Park Geun-hye–Choi Soon-sil scandal, the council organized professors and researchers nationwide to participate in the candlelight protests, proposing reform agendas for a new democratic republic grounded in democracy, equality, and public interest.

“Restoration of Academic Praxis for the 2020s”

Over the past 30 years, the National Council of Professors for Democratization has played the role of a reflective intellect, resisting oppressive political power, for the democratization of society and universities, and critiquing social injustices. However, amidst the neoliberal changes across society and the loss of community solidarity, the critical professor/researcher movement, including the Council, is in a state of serious decline. As a result, professors and researchers are failing to provide fundamental reflections and new directions in the face of the crises that society is currently confronting. Particularly, universities have degenerated from ivory towers in pursuit of truth to corporations in pursuit of profit. Moreover, the existing system of knowledge production—mired in elitism, credentialism, authoritarianism, and the insularity of specialized disciplines—is producing only depoliticized and devalued functionalistic knowledge.

To overcome this situation, the Council aims to revive the spirit of practical academism that professors and researchers resistant to the authoritarian regimes of the 1970s and 1980s pursued in solidarity with the people. It seeks to rebuild the intellectual movement for constructing an alternative society by sharing the scholarly achievements and research outcomes of professors/researchers with the citizens. For this purpose, the organization, originally composed mainly of tenured university professors, intends to transform into a more open, horizontal, and inclusive entity, where a diverse array of researchers both within and outside of the academy can participate. The Council will actively align with non-tenured professors and researchers to strive for the restoration of democracy in universities and the academic community. It will involve itself actively in academic and civic organizations to share professors/researchers’ knowledge with the people. Through this, the council will pursue intellectual practice in tandem with civil society, aiming to build a true democratic republic.

Launch of The National Council of Professors and Researchers for a Democratic and Equal Society, the Mingyohyeop 2.0

June 2019

As a result, the National Council of Professors for Democratization, which was established in 1987, finally resolved to make a new beginning by changing its name to The National Council of Professors and Researchers for a Democratic and Equal Society during the Central Committee meeting held in June 2019. The new Council, inheriting 33 years of history and in response to the calling of the times and the changed social environment, announced the “Declaration of the Mingyohyeop 2.0.“