Diplomats' group in hot seat over unfair treatment of school at its building

The building of the Korea Council on Foreign Relations in Seocho District, Seoul. Korea Times file

By Bahk Eun-ji

The Korea Council on Foreign Relations, an organization of former and incumbent diplomats, is facing criticism for abusing its power against an alternative school that leased the third and fourth floors of the council's building in southern Seoul.

A student attending the Soopna School there, filed a petition on the Cheong Wa Dae website Friday, calling for help to stop the council's unfair treatment of the school including banning students and staff from using facilities in the building such as elevators.

The school with about 80 students and 20 teachers with a dormitory, moved into the building in 2019, and has been in conflict with the council since its current head was inaugurated in early 2020.

According to the petition and media reports, the council has banned students and teachers from using the front door, the lobby, elevators and the schoolyard since March last year.

In order to get to their classrooms, students have to use a side door in the building's lower ground floor and climb the stairs. If they want to use the elevator to carry heavy luggage, such as sacks of rice for the school cafeteria, they must obtain permission through a lawyer hired by the council and pay up to 300,000 won ($272) for the privilege.

“The council demanded the closure of the cafeteria and kitchen as the council members complained about the smell of food,” said Joo Tae-yong, a representative of the teachers at the school.

The council also did not permit the school to repair the heating system, so children had to stay in a dormitory with temperatures at 14 degrees to 15 degrees Celsius in winter, according to a press release by parents.

Students have been staging a rally in front of the building to protest the council's unfair treatment since last week and while doing so, some students claim that the janitor of the building used abusive language to them.

With the criticism intensifying, the council released statement denying the media reports and said the school has been making false accusations.

“The lease contract for the school is limited to the third floor of the building, and the use of the front door, the elevator and the playground is not included,” the council said in a statement.

Korea Council on Foreign Relations President Lee Joon-gyu / Captured from the council's homepage

“We have tolerated their use of the facilities for a while, but unlike at the time of the contract, the number of students and personnel of the school increased rapidly, raising safety issues,” it said.

It said the school occupied the lobby on the first floor through a large-scale event with the parents and held various events until midnight, which it claimed caused many problems in securing the safety of council members.

The council's President Lee Joon-gyu, a former ambassador to Japan, reportedly said he was willing to talk with the school principal. But Joo said Lee's remarks didn't make sense as he already knew the alternative school had a different system from regular schools and didn't have a principal but only a teachers' representative.

“Unlike regular schools, we don't have a principal. We only have three associations representing teachers, parents and students. Lee's comments that he doesn't know who he has to talk to is just an excuse to avoid the situation,” he said.