Private University Professors Acquitted in First Trial for Using Teaching Assistant Scholarships as Undergraduate Operating Expenses

Court: "Long-standing practice, no liability"

Seoul Central District Court / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Jo] Professors at a private university who were prosecuted for using graduate teaching assistants' scholarships as undergraduate operating expenses were acquitted in the first trial. The court ruled that even if they committed an irregularity, they could not be held criminally responsible due to customary practice.

According to the legal community on the 3rd, Judge Bae Seongjung of the Criminal Division 3 at the Seoul Central District Court acquitted Professors Lee and Cho, who were indicted on charges of fraud. Professor Lee, who served as the head of an undergraduate department at a municipal university in Seoul in 2012, was prosecuted for falsely selecting graduate students as 'educational teaching assistants' and then reclaiming the scholarships paid to them to use as undergraduate operating expenses. Prosecutors' investigation revealed that Professor Lee embezzled a total of about 245 million won over 40 instances in two years using this method. Professor Cho, who served as the head of the undergraduate department during a different period, was also indicted for receiving 200 million won over one and a half years from March 2015 using the same method.

The court found that the charges corresponded to 'lack of proof of crime.' The basis was the long-standing practice at the school. Since the early 2000s, the undergraduate department at this school has paid full tuition scholarships to educational teaching assistants and reclaimed all but 10% of the amount, depositing and managing the funds in accounts under the names of the department heads. It was said that the number of teaching assistants allocated was too small relative to the size of the department, so more graduate students who could effectively perform teaching assistant roles had to be selected. The undergraduate department collected scholarships from educational teaching assistants to pay wages to additionally appointed teaching assistants and used some of the funds for undergraduate operating expenses.

The court stated, "This practice appears to have arisen from the reality that it is impossible to provide effective class assistance with only the allocated teaching assistants and the circumstances that wages must be paid to graduate students who performed teaching assistant roles," adding, "Since the school corporation was fully aware of these circumstances, it is not reasonable to charge the defendants with fraud."

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