loudspeakers on campus, three students at Y University filed civil and criminal lawsuits on
May 9 and Jun. 17, claiming that their right to study was being infringed upon by the noise.593)
As the press reported the complaints and civil lawsuit filed by the students at Y University,
an unprecedented amount of social attention was focused on the case both inside and outside
the school in June and July.594) A professor of the Department of Cultural Anthropology at
Y University criticized the students595) who filed the lawsuit by posting a notice titled ‘I
hope you are ashamed: to the community members who do not support the struggle of the
cleaning and security workers’ at the entrance of the school’s central library on Jul. 7. On the
other hand, some on-campus communities said that the demands of the cleaning workers are
a matter between the contractors and complained of inconvenience due to the noise.596)
The incident received much attention with many media outlets reporting the current status of
the rest areas from the side of the cleaning workers, the outsourcing structure, the filing of civil
and criminal complaints, and the reactions and hate expressions inside and outside the school.
As the media’s interest continued, students and graduates of Y University released a statement
that criticized the school for not fulfilling its responsibility in relation to the incident.597) On the
other hand, 12 lawyers from ‘Minbyun, Lawyers for a Democratic Society,’ who are graduates
of Y University, said on Jul. 12 that they will represent the cleaning workers, and on the next
day, lawyers from ‘Hanbyun, Lawyers for Human Rights and Unification of Korea,’ said that
they will represent the students who filed the lawsuit.598)
According to a KBS poll,599) about 90.5% (38.4% strongly agree, 52.1%) were in favor of
the cleaning workers rally that continued at various universities in the summer of 2022.
593) Complainant said in an interview with the Korea Economic Daily on July 12, 2022, that “I understand the grievances
of cleaning workers, but it is difficult to tolerate harming others in order to make a point.”
594) Media Today, Yonsei University cleaning worker problem, how did the media deal with it, Jul. 16, 2022.
595) Chosun Ilbo, Student sue cleaning worker…Yonsei University Professor, “I feel skeptical” about the lesson plans,”
Jul. 2, 2022.
596) BBC NEWS Korea, ‘Right to Learn’ vs ‘Right to Work’…How to view a student suing cleaning workers, Jul. 6, 2022.
597) Joongang Ilbo, “Ashamed of the lawsuit”…2373 alumni supporting the cleaning workers, Jul. 13, 2022,
Segye Ilbo, 230 legal expert alumni supporting the cleaning workers, urging the school to resolve the situation, Jul.
18, 2022.
598) Newsis, Lawsuit against the cleaning workers at Yonsei Univ., Minbyun vs. Hanbyun, Jul. 21, 2022.
599) These are the results of an Internet survey conducted by the KBS Public Media Research Institute's research team
on 558 students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate schools among males and females aged 18 to 29 or older
nationwide from July 8 to 12, 2022 (5 days).
242
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