Dongduk Women's University Estimates Up to 5.4 Billion KRW in Damages from Protests Against Engineering Conversion

Student Council "Stop Intimidation"

Dongduk Women's University claimed that the protest against the transition to coeducation, held by enrolled students for five days, caused damages amounting to up to approximately 5.4 billion KRW. In response, the student council protested, stating, "The school has billed the student council for the damages" and demanded, "Stop the intimidation."

Protests by students have continued following reports that Dongduk Women's University is considering transitioning to a coeducational system. Yonhap News

On the 15th, Dongduk Women's University announced on its website, "Although the amount is estimated by an external company and is not exact, the damage is estimated to be between 2.44 billion KRW and 5.44 billion KRW." The highest costs were related to repairs of the main campus, Design Hub, and Performing Arts Center, ranging from 2 billion to 5 billion KRW. Included were also a damage claim of 330 million KRW demanded by the organizer of the job fair canceled due to the students' protest, and 100 million KRW for renting external facilities for examinees during the university entrance exam period when protests occurred on campus.

Regarding the wide range of estimated damages, the school explained, "Since we cannot assess the internal condition of the buildings occupied by the students, the damage estimate of 2.4 billion to 5.4 billion KRW is not precise." They added, "For substances like lacquer and paint, depending on the degree of penetration, decisions must be made between simple cleaning or replacing the building's exterior walls. If the lacquer-damaged parts are to be replaced, the entire section partitioned by that finishing material must be replaced," leaving open the possibility that the damage amount could increase.

On the morning of the 14th, as the campus protests that began after it was reported that Dongduk Women's University was considering transitioning to a coeducational system continued, students held signs reading "The school cannot break us" at Dongduk Women's University in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

In this regard, the Dongduk Women's University Student Council stated on the same day, "On the afternoon of the 14th, the student council received a damage compensation claim document amounting to 330 million KRW from the university administration," and added, "The university administration must immediately stop intimidating students by exploiting their financial vulnerabilities to force the end of the sit-in and occupation."

The school responded, "The university administration did not make the claim." They explained that the companies that hosted and prepared the career job fair on that day prepared estimates for property damage and submitted them to the school. Since the recipient was addressed as the 'Student Council,' the documents were simply forwarded to the student council.

The Dongduk Women's University protest 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 university development plan. As the protest escalated, events scheduled for this week, such as the scholarship award ceremony and job fair, were canceled. The school clarified that the promotion of coeducation was not a finalized decision and that they were planning a procedure to gather opinions.