Expats
Korean family awarded refund
By Xu Fan (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-12-14 09:25
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A Korean family that pulled two of its children out of a Beijing international school because of the global financial crisis will be refunded half of the 36,000 yuan deposit, a court has ruled.
Youngshuk Kwon, a 44-year-old Korean journalist who worked in the Beijing bureau of Chosun Ilbo newspaper, paid 36,000 yuan to Dulwich College, a British international school in Shunyi district, for the admission of his 10-year-old son and 14-year-old daughter.
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The deposit is held by the school for the duration of the student's enrolment and can be refunded if the parent delivers a written withdrawal before the college's deadline.
On Oct 24 last year, Kwon sent an e-mail to the school that said he wanted to withdraw his two children.
It was nine days after college deadline and school staff refused to refund the 36,000 yuan deposit.
Liu Qingtao, Kwon's lawyer, said the case was likely the first legal dispute between an expatriate family and an international school about placement deposits.
"Kwon told me that many South Korean families had to leave China because of the global economical crisis. Many international companies or organizations withdrew their employees in a very short time," Liu said.
Liu said Kwon had told him that there was at least 100 South Korean families that were unable to be get back their deposits when they had to leave Beijing.
The lawyers of Dulwich College told the court that Kwon knew and agreed with the regulations of deposit refund before the enrolment.
Fu Min, one of the college's lawyers, said the withdrawal of Kwon's children affected the normal admission process of the college and caused some financial losses.
"If the deposit is paid, the college will keep the student's enrolment place for the first semester. If the student doesn't come to the class, the deposit will not be refunded," she told the court.
Wei Zhijian, the acting judge of Shunyi court, said Kwon should take liability for breach of contract as he signed the application form and agreed to its conditions.
But the college made the conditions without balancing the finances of the parents and the economic loss to the school.
He said the college should give back half of the deposit back to Kwon.
