Supreme Court Confirms Fines for Professors Who Listed Themselves as Co-Authors on Reissued Books to Boost Records

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The convictions of university professors who falsely listed themselves as co-authors without participating in the writing of a book have been confirmed.

The Supreme Court's 1st Division (Presiding Justice Lee Ki-taek) announced on the 27th that it upheld the lower court's ruling sentencing two university professors, including Professor A, to fines ranging from 12 million to 15 million KRW in the final appeal trial on charges including violation of copyright law.

The court stated, "Even if the work falsely attributed to the author has been previously published, it does not affect the establishment of the crime under the relevant regulations," and added, "There is no error in the lower court's judgment that violated the rules of logic and experience, exceeded the limits of free evaluation of evidence, or misinterpreted the law concerning copyright."

Professor A and others were indicted on charges of listing themselves as co-authors of a 2009 book related to soil mechanics, following the recommendation of a publishing company employee, and pretending to have participated in the writing. They were also accused of submitting the book as part of their research achievements for faculty evaluation.

The trial focused on whether the customary practice among professors of adding themselves as "co-authors" when republishing already issued books could be punishable.

The first trial found Professor A and others guilty and sentenced them to fines ranging from 15 million to 25 million KRW.

The second trial reduced the fines to between 12 million and 15 million KRW, stating, "Professor A and others have no prior criminal record and consideration must be given to fairness with other cases."

The court ruled, "It is a fact that among some university professors, there has been a wrongful practice of adding their names as co-authors to others' works to pursue unjust personal gain, as in this case, even though they were not actual co-authors. To eradicate such practices, it is necessary to strictly punish the defendants."

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