"Suspicion of Admission Fraud and Use of Corporate Card at Entertainment Establishments" Ministry of Education Requests Investigation of Korea University

Graduate Admission Committee Member Score Sheets Not Retained
More Recruited Than Sports Talent Recruitment Guidelines
Notice to Recover 66.93 Million Won Used at Entertainment Establishments

Korea University Main Gate and Main Building (Provided by Korea University)

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-joo] It has been revealed that additional admissions, different from the existing recruitment guidelines, occurred in the special admission process for athletes at Korea University, prompting the Ministry of Education to request an investigation.

The Ministry of Education announced a total of 38 points of concern following an audit conducted from January 29 to February 11 targeting Korea Joongang Academy and Korea University. Disciplinary actions were taken against 230 individuals, including one criminal complaint, two investigation requests, 22 administrative actions, and four financial measures.

Korea University did not retain evaluation score sheets by each committee member for document screening and oral exams in 26 departments of the general graduate school. A Ministry of Education official explained, "We could not verify whether the admissions were fair because the documents to check by each committee member were not kept." The Ministry requested an investigation of those involved under the Public Records Management Act.

In the special admission for athletes, during the first stage document screening for five sports including rugby, the number of candidates selected was four times the quota, unlike the recruitment guideline of approximately three times the quota. As a result, 42 additional candidates were selected, and five of them were finally admitted. Meanwhile, candidates who fell within the approximate three times quota were rejected. The Ministry of Education has requested an investigation as it is unclear whether bribery or other misconduct occurred.

The Ministry of Education was found to have falsely reported to the Ministry that it had established regulations and provided guidance to faculty and students regarding lecture avoidance and prior reporting between professors and their children, as well as fairness in course enrollment and grade evaluation, although no such measures were actually implemented. Scholarships were awarded to two students who had been disciplined, and four students received scholarships exceeding the allowed limits.

Scholarships Awarded to Disciplined Students
Medical Center Also Differentiated Scores Based on Alma Mater

Although graduate schools can assign up to a B grade for cases processed as an I grade, four faculty members awarded A or higher grades to six students. Additionally, three students who did not meet attendance requirements were given C or higher grades.

Furthermore, 13 faculty members used corporate cards up to 86 times per person at entertainment establishments disguised as Western restaurants in Gangnam. The total amount was 66.93 million KRW, of which 26.25 million KRW was split and alternately charged 2 to 4 times simultaneously using on-campus research fund cards and administrative cards. The Ministry of Education notified the recovery of the amounts and imposed severe disciplinary actions (11 people) and warnings (2 people).

At the medical center, different scores were assigned based on the applicant’s alma mater when hiring staff. Over 94 occasions, 3,225 regular employees across 14 job categories were hired, with document screening scores differentiated according to the applicant’s alma mater based on the university placement table of the College Scholastic Ability Test. Since 2018, the weighting of alma mater scores has been further increased.

It was also revealed that a medical school professor who received a 'medical license suspension' penalty due to bribery such as rebates was only given a warning without disciplinary resolution, and that compensation for patent transfers exceeded 232.69 million KRW paid to the inventor.

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