Yonsei University Vice President’s daughter suspicion of illegal admission… Court dismisses two professors’ warrants

On the 20th, an emergency took place in Yonsei University. It is known that the prosecution’s warrant has been requested against two professors in connection with the illegal admission of the daughter of former international campus vice president Lee Kyung-tae. On this day, an official at Yonsei University said, “After the investigation, we will discuss whether or not the case officials will be disciplined.”

The illegal admission case of the former vice-chancellor’s daughter was triggered through an audit by the Ministry of Education in July last year. At that time, Yonsei University issued a simple warning, not disciplinary action, such as dismissal, honesty, or reduction of salary for those concerned. However, the matter became more serious as the prosecution recently charged 10 faculty members who were involved in the case as suspects and requested arrest warrants for two of them on the 19th.

Yonsei University Business Building [중앙포토]

Last year, Yonsei University announced that it was due to the three years of disciplinary prescription for not disciplining those involved in the illegal admission case of former president Lee’s daughter A, which occurred in April 2016. According to the Yonsei University Code of Regulations, a request for a disciplinary decision against a teacher who is involved in illegal admission must be made within three years of the date of the occurrence of the reason for disciplinary action.

However, even if the disciplinary prescription has expired, faculty members who are investigated by investigative agencies such as the auditor and the prosecution and the police may be given a position or dismissal. An official at Yonsei University said, “It is correct that university officials, such as professors, are being investigated at the moment,” he said. “There is no immediate decision as to whether or not to be disciplined, but we will discuss it after the investigation.”

According to the legal profession, on the 18th, the prosecution requested an arrest warrant against two Yonsei University Business School professors on suspicion of engaging in illegal admission of Mr. A. The two professors were known as evaluation committee members at the time of the entrance examination of the Yonsei University Graduate School of Business Administration in the second semester of 2016, which Mr. A took. The prosecution believes that the two professors made the second interview score after appointing Mr. A as the successful candidate.

In 2016, Mr. A, the daughter of the incumbent Yonsei University Vice President, was admitted to the University’s Graduate School of Business Administration. As a result of the Ministry of Education’s audit, Mr. A was ranked 9th out of 16 applicants in the document screening method based on quantitative evaluation such as undergraduate and English grades. After that, in the oral evaluation using the qualitative evaluation method, he received a perfect score of 100 and finally passed. At that time, two applicants who passed the document screening in first and second place were eliminated by receiving 47 points and 63 points, respectively, in the oral evaluation.

Prof. Park Mo’s lawyer, who completed the arrest warrant examination that day, said, “The evaluation was conducted fairly according to the normal procedure.”

On the afternoon of the 20th, the Seoul West District Law dismissed arrest warrants for two Yonsei University Business School professors who were accused of obstructing business. A court official explained the reason for dismissal, saying, “It is difficult to admit the reason to be restrained and the significance of it.”

Reporter Kyung-Hyun Kyung-Hyun [email protected]