Simsan Kim Chang-suk(1879 - 1962) Kim Chang-suk, the first president of the University, was a liberation movement leader and educator. In the whirlwind of the Korean Independence Movement, which started in March 1919, he united Confucian scholars and sent a joint petition to the International Peace Conference, which was in session in Paris. After the Korean liberation in 1945, he organized a foundation which ultimately revived the Old Sungkyunkwan as an institute of higher education. The Highest National Medal was given to him after his death. In May 1997, the Korean government held commemorative programs in his honor after selecting him as the Historical Personage of the Month.