Costs Incurred at the '2024 Dongduk Career and Employment Extracurricular Joint Fair'

The Dongduk Women's University Student Council, which has been holding protests against the transition to coeducation, claimed that the school demanded 330 million KRW in compensation for damages incurred during the protests and urged the school to "stop the intimidation." The school explained, "The amount was claimed by the company preparing the job fair, and the school merely forwarded the request."

On the morning of November 12, people are protesting and blocking the door at the Baekjunyeon Memorial Hall of Dongduk Women's University in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News.

On the 15th, the Dongduk Women's University Student Council stated, "On the afternoon of the 14th, the Student Council received a document from the university headquarters demanding 330 million KRW in compensation for damages," and added, "The university headquarters must immediately stop intimidating students by using financial pressure to lift the sit-in and occupation."

The Student Council further explained that the 300 million KRW compensation claim was related to the "2024 Dongduk Career and Employment Extracurricular Joint Fair," which was scheduled for the 12th but canceled due to the protests, and that the claim was for damages caused by students' on-site occupation and demonstrations.

The Committee for Full-Scale Opposition to the Engineering Conversion, composed of students from Dongduk Women's University, emphasized on the 15th through social media (SNS) that the university administration should withdraw the damage compensation claim and appear in a public forum. X

They continued, "In the midst of the chaotic campus situation, it is regrettable that the university headquarters, which should communicate frequently with students first, refuses to meet and instead intimidates students with money faster than anyone else," emphasizing, "The university headquarters should withdraw the compensation claim and appear in public."

However, the school clarified, "The university headquarters did not make the claim." They explained that the companies that hosted and prepared the career and employment fair on that day prepared estimates for property damage and delivered them to the school, and since the recipient was addressed to the 'Student Council,' it was only forwarded to the Student Council.

The protests at Dongduk Women's University began on the 11th after it was revealed that some faculty members mentioned the 'promotion of transition to coeducation' during the process of establishing the school's development plan. As the protests expanded, events scheduled for this week, such as the scholarship award ceremony and job fair, were canceled. However, the school previously explained that the matter was not finalized and that they were planning a procedure to gather opinions.