Supreme Court: Excluding Seoul National University Professor from Academic Support for Using Part of Research Funds as Shared Expenses Is Excessive

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The Supreme Court has ruled that even if there is evidence that research funds supported by the Ministry of Education were partially misused, excessive sanctions are inappropriate.

The Supreme Court's Third Division (Presiding Justice Cho Hee-dae) overturned the lower court's ruling that dismissed Professor A of Seoul National University's College of Engineering's appeal against the Ministry of Education's decision to exclude him from academic support selection, and remanded the case to the Seoul High Court on the 10th.

Seoul National University was selected as an academic support recipient by the Ministry of Education and received project funds such as the "World-Class University (WCU)" program from the Korea Research Foundation starting from the end of 2008. During the support period, the Foundation confirmed that Professor A deposited part of the scholarships paid to student researchers affiliated with his lab into a joint management account under the name of an administrative staff member and used it for lab operating expenses.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Education stated that "Professor A improperly used student labor costs," ordered the recovery of approximately 70 million KRW of project funds, and imposed a three-year exclusion from academic support selection. Professor A filed a lawsuit claiming that the Ministry's decision constituted an abuse of discretion.

The first trial ruled in favor of Professor A and canceled the Ministry of Education's decision. It stated, "There is a possibility that collecting and managing the paid scholarships in a joint account and using them violated the project agreement," but added that 'violation of the agreement' alone cannot be grounds for the sanction.

On the other hand, the second trial sided with the Ministry of Education, stating, "Joint management of student labor costs is an act prohibited by the regulations and agreements related to each project in this case, which ultimately constitutes 'using project funds for purposes other than intended.'"

The Supreme Court also agreed with the second trial's judgment. The court stated, "The jointly managed funds were substantially used for all students affiliated with the lab, and the operating standards were objectively established to some extent," adding, "Considering that the plaintiff professor did not operate the funds based on arbitrary criteria, it is difficult to view the extent of infringement on public interest or the degree of illegality as significant."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.