The Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) stands on the history the alumnus built over the past 625 years. The SKKU Alumni Association has survived and will continue to grow the roots of SKKU. As graduation is not a farewell but the first step toward being a part of the SKKU alumni family. Therefore, the Sungkyun Times (SKT) now introduces Yoon Yong-tack, the former chairperson of the SKKU Alumni Association.
Who Is Yoon Yong-tack?
Q1 Please introduce yourself.
Hi, I am Yoon Yong-tack. I was the chairperson of the SKKU Alumni Association from May 2018 to April 2023. I enrolled in SKKU’s Business Administration major in 1959 and graduated in 1965 as the 3rd member of the Reserve Officer’s Training Corps (ROTC).
Q2. What did you do as the chairperson of the Alumni Association?
The Alumni Association is a place where alumni get together and volunteer for the University. Even if someone has a good personality or a successful career, they cannot participate in the activities if they do not have the spirit of service. For the school to do well, the alumni must also do well. Therefore, the University, the Foundation, and the Alumni Association must form a trinity. As a chairman, I worked to build bridges between the two and offered various services to revive our school.
Q3. How did you get involved with alumni?
Alumni generally participate in association activities when they are socially stable. After about 10 years post-graduation, people feel a longing for their university, so they search for and wonder about how the school is run. In my case, Lee Chung-gu, a preceding chairperson of the SKKU Alumni Association and my middle school classmate suggested I join the union. I was the chairperson of the ROTC Alumni Association at this time but when he asked me to join the SKKU Alumni Association, I decided to become the vice chairperson in 2000.
Q4. What is your most impressive memory of SKKU?
It would be the April 19 Revolution that happened when I was a sophomore, which made me feel proud of SKKU. At that time, my peers and I went up to the Blue House, then scattered in front of the City Hall due to the strong police subdues. While I agonized over whether to withdraw, I heard the student president of SKKU shouting. He climbed up on the bus and yelled, “If we run away, there will be no democracy.” The students, including myself, went back into battle after hearing this cry. That is the most memorable event for me.
About Chairperson, Yoon Yong-tack
Q5. What do you consider most when leading the association?
The most important part is forming a youthful alumni association. I graduated with the class of 1959, and I am 84 years old now, so I am a part of the older generation. However, I want younger people to manage the association and build their own networks. For this, I tried to find alumni in their late 60s or early 70s and organized a union called “The 67th.” Also, I built a union for the classes of the 1980s to 1990s and 1990s to 2000s.
Q6. The Yoon Yong-Tack Scholarship Fund was established in 2004. How did it start?
When I was an undergraduate, I walked from Glieumdong to Myeongrun-dong because I did not have enough money to ride a bus. So, I had to climb up the Miari Pass to go to school. Walking through the dust on the road was very arduous, especially during the summer. While climbing the hill, I decided that after I became successful, I would grant scholarships to students going through hardships like myself. This resolution came to fruition in 2004.
Q7. You raised further funding through the Sungkyun Nobel Fund in 2018. Why are you consistently setting up funds and giving help?
The first thing I wanted to do as the chairperson was to create a project for our university. There had to be an award like the Nobel Prize for the development of our university, so I made the Sungkyun Nobel Fund to support the research of our competent professors earlier than any other university professors. Among the \5 billion that I contributed to the school, \500 million was used for scholarship funds, and another \500 million was invested in the Nobel fund. This year is already the 6th award of the Nobel Fund.
Q8. Why do you think the alumni community is important?
Around 250,000 alumni have graduated from SKKU. It would be fantastic if all of them joined the Alumni Association, but there are only a few thousand that participate. The alumni gather to promote the development of the university, and the students who received their help will do the same things someday to create a virtuous circle. I wish all alumni would become a part of the association and join our events.
Q9. You were the 36th, 37th, and 38th chairperson. What was your driving force for leading the SKKU Alumni Association?
I was deciding to end my term short, but I was in the chair for an unexpectedly long time due to various reasons. When I was the chairperson, SKKU was on the rise and ranked 82nd in The World University Rankings 2019. The desire to get into the top 50 was one of my driving forces.
Q10. Do you have any regrets looking back on your six years in the alumni association?
I tried my best during my term, but due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), I could not accomplish everything that I planned to do. There are various unions in the Alumni Association, but when we shifted to online meetings, communication between each groups became insufficient. From now on, face-to-face activities will become the norm again, so I am not worried about this problem too much.
Leaving the Life of the Chairperson
Q11. You decided to step down as the chairperson in May. How did you feel?
Frankly speaking, I have no lingering affection for the chairperson position but only feel relieved from putting down the burden. It feels like a heavy weight off my shoulders. However, this does not mean I am completely backing out of the Alumni Association. From now on, I will take part as an honorary president to help the next chairperson. I am looking forward to welcoming a new chairperson and a new era of the SKKU Alumni Association.
Q12. What is your retirement plan?
I will concentrate on my personal business and also participate in the alumni association as an honorary president. I will also visit SKKU frequently to deliver scholarships. Even if I leave this world, my projects will be unveiled by my son, who is currently a professor at SKKU. From now on, I will get more leisure time by enjoying a pastoral life.
Q13. Do you have any words for Kingos, who will be the new family of the alumni?
For Kingos, be faithful to your current positions by studying hard. However, something more important than that is to nourish yourself through humanistic education. In particular, the moral education Kingos are taking would be a huge advantage in their future. As an SKKU student, Kingos will already have started with good personality traits. I hope you continue to maintain and preserve these traits well.