[Herald Economics, Reporter Lee Myung-soo] Amid the internal conflict at Dongduk Women’s University last year due to discussions about transitioning to a co-ed institution and subsequent protests, Lee Jun-seok, a member of the Reform Party, criticized a Democratic Party member’s remark on the 4th that the fundamental cause was “lack of communication” as “an attempt to distort the essence of the Dongduk Women’s University incident.”
According to Newsis, Rep. Lee posted on his Facebook page that “the Democratic Party met with Dongduk Women’s University students on the 17th of last month and plans to hold a press conference and debate in the future,” sharing a related article.
Earlier, The Fact reported that 10 Democratic Party members met for about 40 minutes with five students from Dongduk Women’s University who visited the National Assembly on January 17.
With parts of the school covered in paint from the so-called “lacquer protest,” symbolizing the Dongduk Women’s University incident, the students argued to Democratic Party lawmakers that “the issue arose because the school did not communicate and make efforts to resolve the conflict.”
In response, Democratic Party members are scheduled to hold a press conference at the National Assembly on the 6th to continue publicizing the Dongduk Women’s University issue and investigate allegations of academic corruption by the Dongduk Foundation, which operates the university.
Rep. Lee Jun-seok stated regarding this issue, “The essence of the Dongduk Women’s University incident is not a lack of communication, but ‘barbaric violence’ displayed by expressing opinions through anti-intellectual and anti-civilization acts before even attempting communication.” He emphasized that “choosing extreme violence when one’s opinions are not accepted, as in the Seoul Western District Court riot incident and the destruction of public property in the Dongduk incident by non-civilized methods, have the same method and essence.”
He continued, “To the Democratic Party, is the riot at the Western District Court considered bad violence, while the Dongduk University riot is seen as the good violence of unfortunate students? The fundamental principle that violent means must be rejected in a democratic society should be applied equally, whether the subject is a far-right YouTuber or a university student.”
Rep. Lee also added, “We are in a chaotic era where the ruling party seems to tolerate riots in court, and the opposition applies double standards to campus violence,” pledging that “the Reform Party and I will firmly reject all forms of violence without categorizing it based on political interests.”
Meanwhile, Dongduk Women’s University experienced internal strife last November due to student protests and occupation over discussions of transitioning to a co-ed system. Although the school’s “Public Discourse Committee on Co-education” initiative settled the internal conflict, legal disputes continue as the school has filed lawsuits against some students for damaging campus facilities.