On September 15, the KAIST Undergraduate Association (UA) uploaded a post on their Facebook page regarding the school’s policy of menstrual leave, containing information on the policy’s establishment, usage, necessity, and promotion. However, many found the post’s wording and usage of data inappropriate and biased, publicly voicing their disapproval on social media. As a result, the UA removed the controversial parts of their post. UA President Jun Seok Lee also uploaded an apology letter on Facebook.

The menstrual leave policy began in 2017 when the Undergraduate Student Council (USC) at the time, PUUM, proposed it to the school (see Volume 159 for more information). After discussion with the USC, the school administration began a trial run of the policy. In comparison to similar policies in other universities, its history is relatively short and its success remains reliant on the efforts of the UA.

However, the fate of the menstrual leave policy is now hanging in the balance. While both the school and the UA expressed positive feedback on the expansion of this policy, the Office of Administration expressed its concerns about the policy’s misuse by female students merely wanting to skip classes. Thus, when the UA uploaded the post regarding the continuation of the trial run this semester, they expressed worry, along with collected data from the previous semester. This data showed a trend of increased absences close to national holidays and school festivals.

The word choice and the implications of the post were enough to “create conflict and confusion”. After listening to the feedbacks and criticisms of the students, the president of the UA chose to avoid further controversy and apologized. “The value created by the efficiency of the policy and the value debased by the misuse of the policy must be considered simultaneously,” said Lee in his interview, emphasizing that they would focus more on the former.

Within the heated debate on the topic, some pointed out that the school’s policy on mandatory attendance is the fundamental problem. Without it, the menstrual leave policy would not even be necessary. Unfortunately, the UA is an emergency response organization made in lieu of the USC after elections failed in March (see Volume 168 for more information). Because of this, it not only lacks the representative nature granted via election, it also lacks “enough resources available to build constructive discussion and strive for active regulation changes”. So despite the best efforts of those involved, the UA is focused on making a “smooth transition to the next USC” and preserving “current works and services provided”. This has therefore resulted in the continuation of the trial period for menstrual leave in Fall 2019.