"Without Even Attending Lectures," Hongdae Art College Professor's Students Respond... Battle Over the Truth

Joint Action "Professor A sexually harassed students and pressured them to participate in private tasks"
Professor A's students "Stop character assassination against the professor... Distortion and patching of statements"

On the 13th, some Hongik University students who identified themselves as Professor A's disciples posted a large notice claiming that "the majority of the content revealed in the joint action is not true." / Photo by disciples of Professor A

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Seohyun] Amid allegations that a professor at Hongik University’s College of Fine Arts verbally abused and sexually harassed students, the professor in question, Professor A, stated that "all allegations of sexual harassment and verbal abuse are untrue." Seventeen students from the university also refuted the claims made by the accusers through a public notice, asserting that the allegations are not factual.

On the 13th, Professor A told a media outlet, "None of the words or actions claimed by the other side (Joint Action) were actually made or done by me. I can clearly explain everything."

He added, "I have remained silent until now because the students claiming to be victims are also my mentees, and I was concerned that my rebuttal might hurt them." Professor A said he would organize and disclose his position by the 15th.

On the same day, 17 Hongik University students held a press conference in front of the main gate of Hongdae in Mapo-gu, Seoul, urging to "immediately stop the character assassination of Professor A." It is known that all of them had taken Professor A’s classes.

The students explained, "Most of the content claimed by the 'Joint Action' who raised the allegations are distortions or patchworks of statements that are not problematic at all," adding, "While the professor should clarify some of the sexual harassment allegations, we have the courage to firmly correct the parts related to defamation and abuse of power."

They continued, "Although Professor A’s criticism was sometimes harsh, it was always directed at the work and the project," and "It was just the rough teaching of a senior in life, and even the students who heard remarks like 'I want to lose' at the time burst out laughing, so it was not an unpleasant situation."

Furthermore, they claimed, "Not a single person among the Joint Action members attended Professor A’s lectures," and "Student council leaders who have never been to the classroom and external political forces are criticizing Professor A based solely on distorted claims." They also pointed out, "If verbal abuse and sexual harassment had been rampant in Professor A’s lectures, which were overcrowded with auditing students, how could anyone have tolerated it for so long?"

Stakeholders of the joint action for the dismissal of Professor A involved in human rights violations at Hongik University College of Fine Arts hold a dismissal petition during a press conference exposing the victim cases of Professor A and demanding dismissal in front of the main gate of Hongik University in Mapo-gu, Seoul on the 8th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, the 'Joint Action for the Dismissal of Professor A for Human Rights Violations at Hongik University College of Fine Arts' held a press conference in front of the school on the 8th, claiming that Professor A had sexually harassed multiple students and pressured them to participate in private tasks from 2018 to the present. They urged the school to dismiss Professor A and protect the victims.

The Joint Action alleged, "Professor A used hierarchical relationships to coerce students by saying that 'you can only succeed if you sleep with someone who has influence like me.'"

They also stated, "He exerted silent pressure by opening the calendar app on his phone to set a specific date, saying to a student, 'Don’t you think we will have sex someday?'"

Additionally, they emphasized that Professor A repeatedly made remarks such as "I really want to beat you up. If only you weren’t my student," or "Your comments provoke violence," targeting specific students every week.

The school stated that it will conduct a fact-finding investigation and take appropriate measures as soon as reports from the victims are received.

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