Police toss case by student accusing app club of extortion to quit

An AI-generated illustration shows students blocking a door so one of its members cannot leave the room [CHATGPT]

Police have dismissed a criminal complaint filed by a university student who said they were forcibly held in a campus study room for more than seven hours and pressured into paying an exit fee before being allowed to quit an app development club.

The case was closed in March when the Seongbuk Police Station decided not to refer it to prosecutors after finding the charges of joint confinement and joint extortion did not meet the legal threshold, police said Sunday.

The incident occurred in November in a campus study room. A student in an app development circle announced plans to leave the project, citing an overseas travel schedule. The other members pushed back immediately, blocking the exit.

"You can't quit," they said. "You have to follow the rules." Standing in the doorway, they then demanded the student pay 300,000 won ($204) to exit, find a replacement and complete a full handover before leaving.

The standoff lasted about seven hours and 30 minutes. The student eventually paid the exit fee before the situation ended.

The student later filed a complaint against the club members, alleging they had forcibly detained him and extorted payment.

Police found the charges did not meet the legal threshold.

"The student expressed a desire to leave, but no physical force or assault was used," police said.

"It is difficult to consider psychological pressure alone as constituting confinement."

The exit fee demand was also found to have been an established club rule set in advance, with no coercion through violence or threats confirmed.

"It is difficult to conclude that the members had the intent to extort," police said.

The incident reflects a broader shift in university club culture. As clubs focused on employment and portfolio-building have grown more common on campuses, internal rules around entry and exit fees have grown stricter. Development, startup and job-preparation clubs in particular are known to enforce rigid rules to prevent members from dropping out mid-project.

Some observers argue that a tightening job market and intensifying competition are making university club culture unnecessarily harsh.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.