Controversy over 'Reserve Forces Disadvantages' at Seoul National University... 6 Reports Received at Reporting Window

Student Council Acting President, Official Response Requested

The Acting Student Council President of Seoul National University (SNU) has opened a reporting channel for students who suffered disadvantages due to reserve forces training.

Seoul National University Main Gate, Gwanak-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

On the 24th, the Acting Student Council President of SNU stated in a press release, "We have opened a reporting channel to collect cases of students who experienced damages violating Article 17-3 of the Enforcement Decree of the Higher Education Act during the basic reserve forces training held at SNU from the 21st to the 23rd."

The types of damages under the Higher Education Act include three main categories: ▲ marking attendance as absent on the day of reserve forces training ▲ not providing class-related materials or supplementary lessons ▲ receiving unfavorable treatment in academic matters such as grade processing.

So far, there have been six reported cases corresponding to these damages, including multiple reports concerning the same course. The Acting Student Council President of SNU has judged that all reported cases violate the law, anonymized the reports, forwarded them to relevant departments, and requested official responses.

The Acting Student Council President of SNU expressed regret that "despite two official letters signed by the university president and meetings with the Ministry of National Defense, such damage cases have occurred," adding, "We take the infringement of reserve forces training rights seriously and will firmly respond if similar cases arise in the future."

On the 23rd, a post on an SNU student community sparked controversy after a professor reportedly notified students that absences due to reserve forces training would not be recognized as attendance.

The author of the post wrote, "At first, it seemed the professor was unaware that rejecting reserve forces absence requests was illegal, so I inquired again," adding, "However, the professor replied that 'reserve forces absence requests cannot be accepted.'" The author further criticized, "The professor said, 'Three absences are unconditionally accepted, so use that,' but does that mean it is acceptable to reject reserve forces absence requests if three absences are guaranteed?"