"Female University Graduate, Want to Filter Out... Absolutely Not Accepting as Daughter-in-Law" Controversy Over Public Institution Head's Remarks

Korea Industrial Human Resources Corporation Director Lee Woo-young
"I want to filter out applicants from Dongduk Women's University"

Regarding the controversy over Dongduk Women's University transitioning to a coeducational system, it has emerged that the head of a public institution stated, "I will never accept a daughter-in-law who graduated from this university," sparking further debate.

On the 19th, signs opposing the engineering conversion were posted at Dongduk Women's University in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

Lee Woo-young, the director of the Human Resources Development Service of Korea, an agency under the Ministry of Employment and Labor, wrote on his Facebook on the 16th, "I recently came across news about Seoul D Women’s University students damaging campus facilities, irreversible graffiti, violent language and behavior towards professors and administrative staff, and vandalism of the founder’s statue," adding, "Even with a blind recruitment system, if possible, I would like to filter out candidates from this university."

Director Lee said, "For this year’s new employee recruitment, I have instructed the talent management department to strengthen objective assessments regarding personality and workplace manners and to include them in the hiring process."

He also wrote, "As a father with a son, I think I would never accept a daughter-in-law who graduated from this university," and added, "Fortunately, my eldest daughter-in-law is a person of upright character who graduated from a coeducational university, and the girlfriend my youngest son is dating is also a sincere person from a coeducational university, so I am relieved."

As the controversy grew, Director Lee deleted the post.

Screenshot of Lee Woo-young, President of the Human Resources Development Service of Korea's Facebook page

He explained, "Seeing the situation at Dongduk Women’s University and feeling deeply saddened by some of the violence, my expression was inappropriate," and said, "I regret not being able to fully understand the feelings of the students." He continued, "Respect for both genders is my management philosophy, and I hope that through a wise resolution of this situation, Dongduk Women’s University will develop further."

Meanwhile, the internal conflict at Dongduk Women’s University triggered by the push for coeducation was temporarily suspended on the 22nd after the student council and the school agreed to halt discussions on the transition.

Although the students’ sit-in protest appears to be coming to an end, the controversy surrounding the incident continues. The biggest online debate centers on who should be held responsible for the damage caused by the school’s protest, symbolized by 'locker painting.'

On the 23rd, Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, stated regarding this, "Those who led the violent incidents must be held accountable for the property damage and other losses." On Facebook, Han said, "Whether the university transitions to coeducation or not, violence can never be tolerated under any circumstances. To prevent recurrence, it must be handled according to principles," asserting this position.