Yonsei University, one of South Korea's leading universities, once again failed to elect a student council president this year, due to low turnout, the council said Monday.

This was the first vacuum in student leadership in 56 years since the student autonomy system was launched in 1961.

The 54th student council election, which was held March 28-31, foundered as the final voter turnout stood at 26.98 percent, falling way short of the required 50 percent mark.

This was a by-election of the original election which was thwarted in November last year due to the absence of candidates.

As the voter turnout lingered about 25.28 percent during the first three days, the emergency council extended the election period by another day, with little effect. The total turnout remained under 30 percent with 4,378 out of 16,224 eligible voters casting their ballots.

“This is the first time in history that the school faced a by-election of the student council, as well as a total absence of the council since 1961,” the school's newspaper stated.

The emergency council even considered the option of extending the vote by another four days, but rejected the proposal, concluding that the 50 percent mark would be unrealistic in any case.

In the absence of a formal student council, the emergency council will be taking charge of student affairs until the November general election, according to officials.

By Byun Hee-jin (hjbandi9@heraldcorp.com)