Yonsei University Suspends Professor Ryu Seok-chun for 1 Month over 'Comfort Women Denigration'... "Unacceptable" Backlash

Controversy Over Remarks During Major Subject Class Last September
Ryu Seok-chun Claims "Disciplinary Decision Based on Fabricated False Information"

Professor Ryu Seok-chun of Yonsei University Department of Sociology caused a controversy by stating that the Japanese military 'comfort women' were a form of prostitution / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suwan] Professor Ryu Seokchun of the Department of Sociology at Yonsei University, who sparked controversy by stating during a lecture that comfort women were voluntary prostitutes, has recently been suspended for one month by the university. Professor Ryu has expressed his intention to appeal the disciplinary action.

According to Yonsei University on the 7th, the school issued a one-month suspension to Professor Ryu following a resolution by the Faculty Disciplinary Committee and notified him of the decision.

The disciplinary committee stated, "At the time, students testified that they 'thought it was a direct solicitation of prostitution' and that it was a 'clear sexual harassment remark.' Considering this, it is recognized that the students targeted by the remarks, as well as those attending the class, viewed this incident as a gender-sensitivity issue."

They added, "We judged the remarks to constitute verbal sexual harassment that caused students to feel sexual humiliation, which damages the dignity of a faculty member. This matter caused shame to the female student and other attendees, and was regarded as gross negligence warranting disciplinary action of suspension or higher."

According to Yonsei University's regulations, faculty disciplinary measures range from dismissal, removal, suspension, salary reduction, to reprimand. If suspended, the faculty member retains their status but cannot teach and loses their entire salary during the suspension period.

In a statement released that day, Professor Ryu said, "I reject the judgment of Yonsei University's disciplinary committee regarding this incident and will continue efforts to seek the truth by utilizing all possible means such as the Ministry of Education, the Faculty Appeal Committee, or administrative litigation."

He further claimed, "This disciplinary action against a senior professor, which could be seen as suppression of academic freedom, was decided without properly verifying evidence and based on fabricated falsehoods during a very important decision-making process within the university."

He added, "Although this case was created to suppress academic freedom by gagging new interpretations and discussions about comfort women, it was disguised as a simple verbal sexual harassment case. I reject the disciplinary committee's judgment."

On September 19 of last year, during a lecture on Development Sociology, a major course in the Department of Sociology, Professor Ryu sparked controversy by telling students, "The direct perpetrator (regarding comfort women) is not Japan," and that it was "a type of prostitution."

Additionally, during the lecture, when a female student asked, "Were the comfort women forcibly taken?" he responded, "If you're curious, would you like to try it?" which added to the sexual harassment controversy.

Since then, several disciplinary committee meetings have been held starting in March of this year, and at the third meeting held late last month, Professor Ryu reportedly stated that "the disciplinary action is unfair."

Moreover, Professor Ryu was scheduled to teach 'Economic Sociology' and 'Industrialization and Democratization of the Republic of Korea' in the first semester of this year, but due to student opposition, he was unable to teach. Currently, these courses are being conducted by substitute instructors.

Meanwhile, separate from the university's disciplinary action, Professor Ryu is under investigation by the prosecution. Last September, civic groups including the Justice and Memory Foundation and the Committee for the Protection of the Livelihood of Ordinary People filed a complaint with the prosecution accusing Professor Ryu of defamation by spreading false information.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.