Dongduk Women's University withdrew all criminal complaints against students who occupied the campus last November and wrote slogans with spray paint (lacquer) on school buildings and roads, known as the "lacquer protest." This comes six months after the protest took place.
The Dongduk Women's University Student Council Emergency Response Committee (Bidaewi) and the Central Operating Committee (Jungunwi) stated in a statement posted on their Instagram account on the night of the 14th, "At 5:30 p.m., the president, the Minister, and the Jungunwi gathered to conduct final discussions," adding that "the school submitted the withdrawal of the criminal complaints and requests not to punish to the police."
According to the statement, the school and the student association met approximately 10 times following a meeting on March 5. The student association noted, "We requested mediation from the National Assembly to ensure amicable discussions between the school and the students," expressing gratitude towards the Chairperson of the National Assembly Education Committee and the committee members for their efforts to facilitate an amicable agreement between both sides. The Chairperson of the National Assembly Education Committee is Kim Young-ho from the Democratic Party of Korea.
The student association explained, "The student council emergency response committee and Jungunwi ultimately received the school's position to withdraw criminal complaints against 19 individuals during the meeting on the 13th."
Kim Myung-ae, the president of Dongduk Women's University, is scheduled to officially present a stance to students and campus members on the day. The students' statement and cooperation agreement discussed in the previous day's meeting will also be posted alongside the president's statement.
Previously, Dongduk Women's University students occupied campus buildings such as the main building and carried out protests, painting school facilities with lacquer, stating that the school was preparing to transition to co-education without sufficient discussion starting from November 10 last year.
After discussions between the school and the student association, when the school decided to temporarily suspend discussions on transitioning to co-education on November 21 last year, the student association lifted the blockade of classrooms. However, the occupation of the main building continued, resulting in a sit-in lasting 24 days. Dongduk Women's University filed a police report on November 29 last year against the student council president and others on charges of joint property damage and joint building invasion.
The school estimated the damage from the lacquer protest, which occurred on November 15 last year, to be between 2.4 billion won and 5.4 billion won. This estimate includes costs for restoring the campuses in Hawolgok-dong, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, and Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, such as the Design Hub and the Performing Arts Center. Because of the lacquer protest, Dongduk Women's University administered the essay exam for selecting new students for the 2025 academic year at Dongduk Girls' High School and Sehwa Girls' High School in Seocho-gu.
Subsequently, the Dongduk Women's University student council also joined forces with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU). The KCTU stated in a commentary in February that it "supports the reasonable struggle of Dongduk Women's University students," urging the school to "withdraw the criminal complaints against students and abandon the transition to engineering that disregards students."
However, there is a possibility that police investigations against students will continue. The charges of property damage and obstruction of business against the students do not fall under the non-prosecutable offense category, which requires the victim's wish for punishment to be disregarded.