Deputy Prime Minister Eun-hye Yoo presides over the Education Confidence Recovery Promotion Team▶ Click here for a larger view
On the 24th, Deputy Prime Minister Yu Eun-hye and Minister of Education said, “Pusan University should investigate allegations of irregularities in the entrance exam and take a series of measures against the allegations of corruption in the entrance examination of Pusan National University Medical School (medical doctors) by Cho Guk, former Justice Minister Cho Kook and the daughter of Dong Gyeong-Shim Professor Chung Kyung-Shim of Dongyang University I have a duty,” he said.
Deputy Prime Minister Yoo said, “It does not violate the principle of presumption of innocence by Pusan National University before the final judgment of the court,” he said. “The Ministry of Education will guide and supervise the implementation of Pusan National University’s action plan faithfully.”
Deputy Prime Minister Yoo revealed the position of the Ministry of Education in relation to Mr. Cho’s suspicion of corruption in Busan National University’s medical examination admissions at the 18th Education Confidence Restoration Promotion Committee held at the government’s Sejong Government Complex on the same day.
While Professor Jeong was sentenced to four years in prison at the first trial in December last year on charges of irregularities in the entrance examination for children, the Ministry of Education asked Pusan National University to establish and report a comprehensive plan containing a fact-related investigation plan on the 8th to resolve the suspicions related to Mr. Cho. did.
Pusan National University was in a position that it could deliberate on the cancellation of admission to all medical doctors only after the final ruling was issued.
However, late on the afternoon of the 22nd, which is the deadline for submitting the official letter, the Ministry of Education reported that after investigating the facts related to Cho’s alleged irregularities in the entrance examination by forming a team in charge of the Fairness Management Committee and the university in charge, the result would be delivered as soon as possible.
After reviewing the results of Busan National University’s report, the Ministry of Education concluded that the fact-related investigation should be carried out as planned by Pusan National University. However, the responsibility of the Ministry of Education was only to direct and supervise whether Pusan National University properly implements the action plan.
Deputy Prime Minister Yoo said, “It does not violate the principle of presumption of innocence for universities with the authority to cancel admission to take a series of measures after investigating the facts related to the allegations of admission denial.” He stressed, “We need to investigate allegations of irregularities in the entrance exam and take a series of measures.”
However, the Ministry of Education saw that it is difficult to apply the Higher Education Act, which requires the head of the university to revoke the admission permission for students who entered by submitting false data.
The reason is that it is difficult to apply retrospectively to Cho, who entered the 2015 school year, because the provision was newly established in December 2019 and the relevant enforcement decree was established and came into effect in June of last year.
At the same time, Deputy Prime Minister Yoo said, “According to the 2015 Pusan National University application guidelines, Pusan National University can take measures (such as cancellation of admission),” and said, “The Ministry of Education will guide and supervise the measures so that the plan can be faithfully implemented.”
Deputy Prime Minister Yoo said, “Because Busan National University is well aware of the severity of the matter, we think that the relevant procedures will be carried out fairly and promptly.” I will do it,” he added.
Professor Kyung-Shim Jeong▶ Click here for a larger view
Considering the need to go through the investigation process and the subsequent hearing process, it is expected that it will take a considerable amount of time for Mr. Cho to cancel admission even if the allegations of corruption at the entrance exam are confirmed as true.
Although the Ministry of Education emphasized the fairness of the entrance exam, it seems difficult to avoid criticism that it consistently maintains a passive attitude in relation to the representative cases of suspected irregularities in the entrance examination.
Earlier, the Ministry of Education directly audited the allegations of corruption in the entrance examination by Choi Seo-won (formerly Choi Soon-sil)’s daughter, Seo-won Choi (previously renamed Choi Soon-sil), of former President Park Geun-hye, and asked the university to carry out the cancellation of his admission to Ewha Womans University.
However, regarding Mr. Cho, the prosecutor held the position that the prosecution could not be audited because the prosecution investigation began before the Ministry of Education made an audit plan.
The reason for not directly appreciating Pusan National University for this matter was that it was the authority of the principal to cancel admission.
In December of last year, Professor Jeong was convicted of corruption in the entrance examination by Cho and related to private equity investment, and was sentenced to four years in prison at the first trial.
The Seoul Central District Court concluded that “the fact of counterfeiting is fully acknowledged” regarding the forgery of the president’s citation from the president of Tongyang University, and decided that all of Mr. Cho’s “seven specs” related to irregularities in the entrance examination were false.
In 2014, Mr. Cho applied for a medical practitioner at Pusan National University, received a service award from the president of Tong Yang University, and submitted a self-introduction letter stating that he completed an internship at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) and finally passed. Mr. Cho passed the national examination for doctors in January this year.
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