On January 24th, the Seoul Administrative Court found in favour of Sookmyung Women’s University and has permitted the university to continue to use national land in Cheongpadong, Seoul as school land. Although Sookmyung won the case against it in 1992 when Yongsan-gu Office imposed a 13 billion won fee for reparation of the land, a second lawsuit was brought to the courts again in 2012 when Korea Asset Management Corporation imposed a reparation fee. At the trial, the judge stated that Sookmyung has the right to use and receive profit from the land and that the nation must obligatorily approve free use of the land, a regulation established in 1938 under governmental law during the former imperial estate. Sookmyung has worked steadily both internally and externally to alert citizens of the unfairness of reparation. Hwang Jinyoung, Department of TESL ’12, stated, “As a Sookmyungian, I participated in the petition campaign without hesitation, and I am very pleased that it carried considerable weight at the trial." Adding to this, the university announced, “We appreciate the opportunity to proceed with our duty and responsibility to provide an institute aimed at women’s advanced learning. We are going to continue to strive to be a leader in women education globally.” Sookmyung has consolidated its identity and historical legitimacy by winning the lawsuit.
