Beong-Soo Kim to be USC’s next president

As interim president, Kim launched the USC Open Dialogue Project and oversaw USC layoffs and budget reductions.

By ZACHARY WHALEN
Being-Soo Kim standing in Hahn Plaza.
President Beong-Soo Kim formerly served as general counsel and senior vice president at USC before taking over as interim president last year. (Henry Kofman / Daily Trojan file photo)

Beong-Soo Kim will serve as USC’s 13th President, according to a community-wide email sent Wednesday. Kim has served as USC’s interim president since July 2025. The election by the Board of Trustees was unanimous.

A Feb. 5 email from Suzanne Nora Johnson, chair of the USC board of trustees, stated that Kim, formerly general counsel and senior vice president at USC, would not be a candidate for the presidency in order to “dedicate all of his efforts to being a faithful steward of USC’s work and responsibilities throughout this transition.”


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In his tenure as interim president, Kim launched the USC Open Dialogue Project, an initiative to guide campus debate on controversial issues in a more civil direction. 

Kim also inherited a $200 million operating deficit after former President Carol Folt’s six-year tenure. According to Provost Andrew Guzman, USC set a $400 million savings goal to address the deficit “in its entirety,” which was divided among USC’s schools. 

USC laid off over 1,000 employees under Kim to reach the savings goal.

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