Yonsei University Puts Professor Ryu Seok-chun's Course Assignment on Hold Over 'Comfort Women Defamation' Controversy

Professor Ryu Seok-chun of Yonsei University’s Department of Sociology caused a controversy by stating that the Japanese military 'comfort women' were a form of prostitution / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suwan] Yonsei University has put on hold the assignment of Professor Ryu Seokchun from the Department of Sociology, who sparked controversy with his remarks about comfort women being prostitutes during a lecture.

On the 20th, Yonsei University stated, "According to the recent resolution of the Faculty Personnel Committee, the assignment of Professor Ryu to the courses he wished to open will be put on hold until a separate decision is made by the committee."

Yonsei University's disciplinary procedure proceeds with the Ethics and Human Rights Committee and the Personnel Committee, followed by a final decision by the Faculty Disciplinary Committee.

Previously, Professor Ryu intended to teach undergraduate courses 'Economic Sociology' and 'Industrialization and Democratization of the Republic of Korea,' but these courses were removed from the 2020 first semester course catalog on the 14th.

In a lecture on September 19 last year for the sociology major course Development Sociology, Professor Ryu told students, "The direct perpetrator (related to comfort women) is not Japan," and said it was "a type of prostitution," causing controversy.

Additionally, during the lecture, when a female student asked, "Were the comfort women forcibly taken?" he responded, "If you're curious, would you like to try it?" which added to the sexual harassment controversy.

As the fallout grew after these remarks, Yonsei University suspended Professor Ryu's lectures for the relevant courses.

Meanwhile, the Yonsei Democratic Alumni Association, Justice Memory Solidarity, and the National University Democratic Alumni Association Council held a press conference in front of the Yonsei University Student Union building that afternoon, demanding Professor Ryu's dismissal.

In their statement, they urged, "We call for the prompt progress of the school's disciplinary procedures and the immediate suspension of his position," and demanded, "Kneel before history and the elders and issue a public apology."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.