Ha Tae-kyung: "Park Ji-won Admits Imperial Service... Also Respond to 'Degree Fraud'"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] On the 16th, Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the Future United Party, stated regarding Park Ji-won, the nominee for the Director of the National Intelligence Service, “Park admitted that graduating from university while in the military was an imperial service,” and added, “However, this is not the end of the issue; the bachelor's degree was also fraudulently obtained.”

At the hearing advisory group and intelligence committee meeting for the NIS director nominee held at the National Assembly that day, Representative Ha said, “Park transferred to Dankook University during his military service period and graduated,” and “very abnormal things happened.”

Representative Ha pointed out, “Yesterday, Park sent a response to our office apologizing for the controversy over preferential treatment,” and “According to confirmation with the Ministry of National Defense, they are unaware of any case allowing active-duty soldiers to graduate from university. It was an illegal imperial service not provided for in the system at that time.”

Representative Ha stated, “The degree was also fraudulently obtained. One is supposed to attend four semesters, but he only attended three semesters. The transcript only shows three semesters,” and “There is no basis for the one semester he did not attend. To graduate early, all credits must have been earned. There is no evidence that he earned credits exceeding the normal amount in one and a half years.”

Representative Ha said, “His academic credentials could be invalidated. If the university degree is invalid, his entire life would be invalid,” and “I hope he answers honestly about this issue.”

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