'Thesis Ghostwriting Allegation' Active Prosecutor Found Guilty in First Trial... "Crime Committed from a Position to Set an Example"

Seoul Central District Court / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] A current prosecutor sibling duo, who were indicted on suspicion of ghostwriting theses, were found guilty in the first trial and sentenced to a suspended prison term.

On the morning of the 14th, Judge Hwang Yeo-jin of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 23 sentenced Prosecutor Jeong and his younger sister Professor Jeong, who were charged with obstruction of business, to 8 months in prison with a 2-year suspension. The court criticized, "They committed crimes while holding positions that should set an example and showed no remorse, so they deserve severe punishment." However, it also stated, "Considering that they do not appear to have led the crime and are first-time offenders with no prior criminal record."

Prosecutor Jeong was indicted for obstruction of the university's thesis preliminary review process by having graduate students write his doctoral dissertation preliminary review paper in December 2016 while enrolled in the doctoral program at Sungkyunkwan University Law School, and then presenting it as if he had written it himself. Professor Jeong, who was working as a professor at a junior college, was also charged with obstruction of editorial duties by having graduate students ghostwrite three theses in the second half of 2018 and submitting or publishing them in law academic journals. It was found that the ghostwriting of theses for the siblings was directed by Professor A of Sungkyunkwan University Law School, who was Prosecutor Jeong’s advisor. The court identified this person as the one who led the crime.

Professor A, a former prosecutor, is known to have built a friendship with Prosecutor Jeong’s father while working at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. After being appointed as a professor, it was reported that he signed a legal advisory contract with a trust company where Prosecutor Jeong’s father serves as vice chairman. Although the prosecution indicted Prosecutor Jeong and Professor Jeong in May last year, Professor A, who was suspected as an accomplice, left the country abroad when the allegations surfaced and was not investigated. Sungkyunkwan University dismissed him.

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