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Police indict 11 for spray painting Dongduk Women's University, despite school withdrawing complaint

Published: 25 Mar. 2026, 21:05 Updated: 26 Mar. 2026, 17:56

People walk across the Dongduk Women's University campus, which had been spray painted in protest of the school's efforts to become a coeducational institution, on Nov. 24, 2024. [YONHAP]

Prosecutors have indicted without detention 11 suspects who spray painted the facilities of Dongduk Women’s University in Seongbuk District, central Seoul, in 2024.

The indictment came about nine months after police referred to prosecutors the students who occupied campus buildings while protesting the university’s unilateral push to convert the school to a coeducational institution at the time.

The Seoul Northern District Prosecutors’ Office stated Wednesday that the 11 suspects' charges included obstruction of business, collective refusal to leave, unlawful confinement and property damage.

They include the then-student council president and head of the education team at a feminist club, who represented the students’ emergency response committee at the time.

Dongduk Women’s University had previously estimated the damage at about 4.6 billion won ($3.07 million) and filed criminal complaints against 21 students who led the protest, but later withdrew those complaints and submitted a statement saying it did not want them punished.

However, the charges do not fall under offenses that require a victim’s complaint for prosecution, nor under offenses that cannot be prosecuted if the victim does not want punishment. This effectively means that the case can proceed, even if the victim doesn’t file a complaint or later withdraws it.

With civic groups continuing to file complaints, police referred the case to prosecutors in June 2025.

“The prosecution will continue to respond sternly to crimes involving illegal group protests,” said the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors’ Office.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY IM SOUNG-BIN [[email protected]]