» Expelled students in front of a court building on May 31

A large blue tent is set up in front of Korea University headquarters. For 408 days, the tent has been there, a protest site for seven of the university’s students who were expelled after some 150 students illegally occupied campus headquarters in April 2006.

Their attempted takeover of the building was to demand that students in a department just merged into the university be given the right to vote for the student government head. The move would require school regulations to be rewritten, which in turn requires approval from school authorities.

As the students blocked the building’s main gate to step up their protests, nine professors were trapped in the building against their will for 16 hours. The university authorities April last year imposed the harshest punishment available against the seven leaders, expelling them and banning them from reentering the university.

The seven expelled students say their expulsion is the university’s retaliation not only for the April 2006 building takeover but also retaliation for a 2005 demonstration, when Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee visited the university to receive an honorary doctoral degree. The protest - against Samsung’s anti-union policy - led to Lee leaving campus early.

Five of the seven expelled students played leading roles in that 2005 demonstration, and were members of a student activist group, ‘All Together’ (Da Hamkke). One of the other seven expelled, Cho Jeong-sik, 25, was not a member of ‘All Together,’ but he said that university authorities questioned him after the 2006 building lockdown, "Are you a member of ‘All Together’?" Instead of saying, "No," Cho replied, "Why do you ask such a question?"

Life inside the tent has not been easy. In winter, they lived in sub-zero temperatures. In summer, temperatures inside the tent went up to 35 degrees Celsius. Their health deteriorated after prolonged sit-in demonstrations and living in the tent. One of the seven expelled students, 23-year-old Kim Ji-yun, had to receive knee surgery on May 21 after sustaining damage to his cartilege. Another of the expelled, Joo Byeong-jun, also 23, has difficulty in sitting for more than one hour due to a herniated disk on his back.

Their colleagues, who have since graduated, have started helping them by returning their diplomas to the university as a way of adding pressure for the university to swiftly resolve the matter. Some 50 diplomas have been collected so far.

However, Kang Seon-bo, head of Korea University’s bureau of student affairs, said, "Discussions could be possible only if the students would show remorse for their actions." One of the expelled students said in response, "The punishment was unjustifiable and the university hasn’t shown a sincere attitude toward dialogue since then."

A similar situation is occurring at Hankook University of Foreign Studies. Jo Myeong-hun, 27, who is majoring in English at the university, was given an indefinite suspension from school in August last year after posting a leaflet accusing several professors of beating and sexually harassing striking university workers at a labor-management protest.

On May 10, the Seoul Northern District Court ruled in favor of Jo, saying the punishment was an abuse of the university’s disciplinary rights. However, Jo is still not back at school, as the university has appealed against the ruling.

Asked why it appealed the court’s ruling, a university official said, "We cannot let our institution be defamed."

Meanwhile, Jo says he needs only five more credits to graduate.

As of 10:00 a.m. on May 31, a trial began at the Seoul Central District Court, as the seven expelled Korea University students have filed a lawsuit to nullity the university’s punishment. It is unclear how long their legal battle will take, nor if they will be given a second chance.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]