Dankook University Professor: "Jeong Gyeongshim's Daughter Listed as First Author to Help with University Admission"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] Professor Jang Young-pyo of Dankook University College of Medicine testified that the reason he listed Cho Min, the daughter of Professor Jeong Gyeong-sim of Dongyang University, as the first author of a medical paper was "to help her with admission to a foreign university."

Professor Jang appeared as a witness at the trial of Professor Jeong held on the 29th at the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 25-2 (Presiding Judge Im Jeong-yeop) and made this statement. In 2007, Professor Jang supervised Cho Min’s experiential activities at the Dankook University Institute of Medical Science and listed her as the first author on a related paper. Later, Professor Jang created false certificates to allow Cho to use this credential for university admissions, and Professor Jeong was indicted on charges of obstruction of business for submitting these documents as part of her daughter’s application to Seoul National University College of Medicine in 2013.

According to the statement presented by the prosecution, Professor Jang had been conducting research on gene polymorphisms related to ischemic birth defects since 2003. Cho Min reportedly participated in the experiments of this study for two weeks until the end of 2007. However, the experimental data derived from Cho’s practice were not reflected at all in the related paper. Professor Jang explained, "The paper must include the best data from the experiments."

According to medical paper publication guidelines, authorship requires significant contribution to data collection, analysis, or interpretation, as well as writing or revising important content. When asked if Cho did not meet these authorship criteria, Professor Jang said, "If you look only at the guidelines, that might be the case, but that doesn’t mean she shouldn’t be listed." When asked why he decided to list Cho as the first author, he replied, "I gave her the opportunity to understand the disease under study and the research methods," adding, "I thought it was most appropriate to list her." He also added, "It is true that I wanted to help her with university admission."

However, he admitted that he did not disclose that Cho was a high school student when listing her as the first author, and that he exaggerated the experiential activity certificate. Professor Jang said, "I also regretted listing Cho as the first author."

After finishing his testimony, when given the opportunity to speak, Professor Jang said, "It seems that I have caused a significant social problem." He continued, "I don’t know how the conclusion will come out for Cho, but if she has decided to enter medical school and become a doctor, I hope she studies hard and deeply considers what kind of doctor she wants to be, so that she becomes an excellent and good doctor."

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