Yonsei University Professors Accused of Ice Hockey Admission Fraud Fully Deny Charges

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[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jung] Professors at Yonsei University, accused of unfairly admitting a specific student during the ice hockey admissions process under the university's special athletic recruitment program, have denied the allegations.

On the 10th, Judge Hyejeong Yoon of the Seoul Western District Court Criminal Division 10 held the first trial for four professors, including Professor Lee (49) from Yonsei University's Department of Physical Education, who were indicted on charges of obstruction of business.

Professor Lee, who is in custody, Professor A (51), also in custody, and two other professors who were indicted without detention, all denied the charges entirely on that day.

Professor Lee's side stated, "There were no predetermined successful candidates, nor was there any plan to admit them," adding, "The core allegations of bribery and illicit solicitation were not confirmed at all during the investigation."

Professor A's side also said, "Unlike other cases of admissions fraud, the indictment does not include any claim that a candidate who should have been admitted was not, and objectively, we believe no such fact exists," and added, "There is also insufficient evidence to prove that the defendants conspired with each other."

Professor Lee and others are accused of participating as evaluators in the 2019 academic year Yonsei University Department of Physical Education special athletic recruitment selection process, pre-selecting seven successful candidates in advance, awarding them scores corresponding to admission, and ultimately admitting them.

The prosecution stated, "The defendants conspired to obstruct the special university admissions process managed by the Yonsei University president, who was unaware of the predetermined admissions, by abusing their authority."

Earlier, in January of last year, the Ministry of Education conducted a special audit regarding the allegations, concluded that the selection process was inappropriate, and requested the prosecution to investigate university officials for suspected bribery. Subsequently, during the prosecution's investigation, Professors Lee and A were detained in January of this year.

The next trial date for Professor Lee and others is scheduled for the 9th of next month.

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