The board of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology on Thursday accepted its president Suh Nam-pyo’s offer to resign on Feb. 23.

Suh recently announced that he would step down in March after years of protests from professors and students against his reform measures. His term originally was to expire in July 2014.

Instead of dismissing him immediately, the 16-member board decided to respect his position.

“We agreed to allow him finish his term honorably and attend the school’s graduation ceremony on Feb. 22,” board chairman Oh Myung said after the meeting.

Oh added that KAIST would set up a special committee next month for selecting a new president.

The 77-year-old former MIT professor Suh had been under growing pressure to quit since the beginning of his second term in 2010.

“The board members warned him today that we will no longer stand if he again defies the formal procedure of the school,” Oh added.

Oh was referring to Suh’s announcement last week. Suh held a news conference without any notice to the board, announcing that he would resign in March and until then would actively engage in selecting his successor.

It was revealed recently that Suh had signed this summer an under-the-table accord with Oh to resign no later than Oct. 20. But he has been insisting that the agreement is no longer valid, claiming Oh first broke his promises, including cooperation in mending his damaged reputation and selecting his successor.

Meanwhile, the professor’s association criticized the board for not implementing the “secret accord,” demanding Suh’s immediate resignation.

Suh first took the helm of KAIST in 2006 and secured his second four-year term in July 2010. He has met strong resistance from students and professors due to a number of his measures, including tightening rules for the tenure of professors and cancelling scholarship for under-performing students.

By Oh Kyu-wook
(596story@heraldcorp.com)