Professors at overseas universities will be allowed to hold concurrent positions at South Korean universities in advanced technology and other designated fields starting Nov. 20, under a revised enforcement decree approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday, the Education Ministry said.
Under existing laws governing public officials, university professors are generally barred from holding dual appointments, meaning overseas professors previously had to leave their positions abroad to take up teaching posts at Korean universities.
An amendment to the Educational Public Officials Act, passed earlier this year, introduced an exemption allowing professors, associate professors and assistant professors already employed at overseas universities to retain their positions upon appointment to Korean universities, subject to approval from their new institutions.
The revised enforcement decree approved Tuesday sets out the fields eligible for dual appointments and the procedures for obtaining approval from university presidents.
The exemption will also apply to private universities, as the Private School Act extends regulations governing public university faculty to their counterparts at private institutions.
Eligible fields include advanced industries and emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and big data, as well as areas designated by individual universities as their specializations.
University personnel committees will be required to review the necessity of dual appointments, confidentiality obligations, management of research outcomes and intellectual property rights, as well as measures to ensure that concurrent appointments do not interfere with teaching, student supervision or academic research.
The revision is aimed at attracting leading scholars from overseas universities to strengthen Korea's research capabilities and cultivate talent in emerging technology fields.
"I hope this revision will encourage more distinguished scholars from overseas to take up positions at Korean universities," Education Minister Choi Kyo-jin said.
"I expect this to improve the quality of education and research at Korean universities and expand academic exchanges between institutions at home and abroad."
seungku99@heraldcorp.com
