Home > National > K-campus

Students balk at Dongduk Women’s University's claim of 5.4 billion won protest cleanup costs

Published: 27 Dec. 2024, 15:09 Updated: 27 Dec. 2024, 15:11

A building of Dongduk Women's University defaced with spray paint opposing the transition of the school to coeducation. [NEWS1]

One of the key issues in the ongoing conflict between Dongduk Women’s University and its students, stemming from the controversy over transitioning to coeducation, is the cost of repairing the campus after recent protests.

In November, students defaced the school with spray paint as a form of protest, and the university estimated the cleaning costs to be as high as 5.4 billion won ($3.6 million).

The conflict was further fueled by a video showing a cleaning service worker demonstrating a relatively simple method of removing the spray paint.

A video shows a cleaning service worker removing a lacquer scribble. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

In the video, the cleaning worker applies chemicals to the spray paint, lets them sit briefly and then wipes the area clean with a sponge. The cleaning service claims that 90 percent of the paint was removed after just a second attempt.

Following the video’s release, students argued that the university’s estimated cleaning costs were “unconvincing.”

A post on X, formerly Twitter, sharing the video and captioned “With just chemicals, spray paint is removed so easily. Where does 5.4 billion come from?” gained over 7.81 million views as of Thursday.

The cleaning service that uploaded the video, however, later clarified in an interview with local news outlet Yonhap News that the process shown in the video does not reflect the overall cost of removal.

“The chemicals used to remove the paint are specially designed,” said the service. “They are difficult to find on the market and expensive.”

They also said that the extensive areas requiring restoration, including buildings and roads made from materials such as marble and granite, which absorb the paint deeply, would require additional specialized work.

Students began protests on Nov. 11 after rumors surfaced that the university would begin admitting male students.

Initially, the demonstrations involved hanging posters around campus and laying school uniforms on the ground in protest.

However, when the issue was not addressed promptly, the protests escalated, resulting in significant property damage. Students scribbled on school buildings and roads, blocked access to university facilities and destroyed materials prepared for a job fair, which was ultimately canceled due to the occupation of campus buildings.

On Nov. 15, the university posted an estimated damage cost on its website, ranging from 2.4 billion won to 5.4 billion won, a figure students have criticized as excessive.

The university said the final cleaning costs will be confirmed early next year.

“We will seek legal responsibility once we confirm who caused the damage,” a university official said.

BY CHAE HAY-SEON, WOO JI-WON [[email protected]]