Jeong Kap-young, an economics professor at Yonsei University, has been appointed president of the university, the school said Thursday.

The school board appointed Jeong as the 17th president after he received 86.6 percent of the vote from faculty members during the three-day meeting of professors that kicked off Nov. 28.

Jeong was one of five presidential candidates selected early last month through interviews and a career examination by criteria such as research ethics and financial status. 

“I feel grateful for warm encouragement and support from the Yonsei family during the presidential voting process,” said Jeong in his official statement.

“I promise to become the president who respects every school member and do my best to not make your encouragement and support for me be in vain. I will try to create a new history of Yonsei and develop it to be one of the world’s prestigious universities,” Jeong said.

Jeong has served as professor of economics at the university since 1986 after he earned an economics Ph.D. at Cornell University in 1985.

He has held important positions at the school, including vice president of the Wonju campus, dean of academic affairs, dean of the graduate school of information and director of the university’s economics research center.

By Lee Woo-young  (wylee@heraldcorp.com)