“Thank you for your many years of invaluable teaching. We will cherish deeply the professors’ brilliant passion and achievements.”

Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) held a retirement ceremony at 4:00 p.m. on August 31 in Jinsudang Gain Hall to honor faculty members who have devoted their careers to teaching and who will reach mandatory retirement at the end of August.

The ceremony was held with great solemnity, attended by President 서거석, senior university officials, members of the Academic Affairs Committee, 박병덕, president of the Faculty Council, families of the retiring professors, staff, students and about 100 others.

The nine professors retiring as of August 31 are 김종수, 조중구 and 최 훈 (Medical School); 지은정 (School of Dentistry); 전재철 (Department of Bioenvironmental Chemistry, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences); 이문희 (Department of German Education, College of Education); 박승수 and 최세종 (Department of Music, College of Arts); and 박 찬 (Department of Physics, College of Natural Science).

At the ceremony, 지은정 received the Order of Service Merit (Green Stripes); 최 훈, 전재철 and 박 찬 received the Order of Service Merit (Okjo); 조중구, 김종수 and 최세종 received the Presidential Service Medal; and 이문희 and 박승수 received the Presidential Citation. The retiring professors were conferred the title of Professor Emeritus.

In his eulogy, President 서거석 said, “The retiring professors are all scholars who have led the advancement of their respective fields. They devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the university, contributing to the rise of today’s JBNU as a leading university in Korea. The entire JBNU family will hold their passion close to our hearts and do our utmost to further illuminate their many achievements so that JBNU can enter the ranks of world‑class universities.”