Private University Hiring Academic Discrimination, Faculty Children Admission Fraud... 448 Cases Detected in Audit Results

Ministry of Education Announces Comprehensive Audit Results for 9 Universities
448 Cases Detected in Accounting, Admissions & Academic Affairs, Personnel
Additional Audits for 7 Universities to be Completed Within the Year

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye is speaking at the 18th Trust Recovery Promotion Team meeting.

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The Ministry of Education conducted a comprehensive audit on nine private universities that had not undergone such an audit since their establishment and identified 448 cases of irregularities, including improper accounting practices and admission fraud.

On the 24th, the Ministry of Education held the "18th Trust Recovery Promotion Team Meeting" to announce a mid-term review of the comprehensive audits of private universities and future plans. The Ministry plans to complete comprehensive audits by this year for 16 large-scale private universities with enrollments of 6,000 or more students.

For the 94 private universities that have not undergone comprehensive audits besides the large-scale ones, audits will begin next year. Approximately 19 comprehensive audits will be conducted annually, with detailed plans to be prepared by June.

The Ministry announced the results of comprehensive audits for nine universities: Yonsei University, Hongik University, Korea University, Dongseo University, Kyung Hee University, Konyang University, Sogang University, Kyungdong University, and Busan University of Foreign Studies. The number of issues identified by category were ▲Accounting 148 cases (33%) ▲Admissions and Academic Affairs 98 cases (22%) ▲Organization and Personnel 92 cases (20%) ▲Academic Research 40 cases (9%) ▲Facilities, Equipment, and Corporate Affairs 70 cases (16%).

All nine universities showed problems in the accounting sector. Examples include splitting payments with corporate cards at inappropriate locations, using them for personal purposes such as flights, accommodations, and golf, and awarding contracts without competitive bidding. Thirty-three individuals were subject to disciplinary action for improper use of corporate cards, 30 for contract violations, and 25 for improper budget execution.

In admissions and academic affairs, 98 cases were pointed out across the nine universities, including unfair practices in selecting new students who were children of faculty and staff, absence of graduate school admission screening documents, and improper grade assignments. Eighty-five individuals were subject to disciplinary action for missing admissions documents, 26 for improper admissions management, and 15 for improper grade management.

Forty cases were detected involving failure to submit research project results, inadequate management of research projects, and submitting a student's thesis as one's own research output. Five individuals were disciplined for research project management issues and five for research ethics violations.

Ninety-two cases related to organization and personnel were identified, including discrimination based on alma mater during hiring processes and failure to provide additional points to employment support candidates. Violations of laws such as the Act on the Honorable Treatment and Support of Persons of Distinguished Service to the State during faculty hiring, unfair evaluations by categorizing alma maters by rank, and failure to discipline individuals with criminal records were also uncovered.

The Ministry plans to complete audits by the end of the year for seven universities that have not yet undergone comprehensive audits and publish an audit white paper to share analyses and evaluation results of the identified cases with the universities. The seven universities are Catholic University, Kwangwoon University, Daejin University, Myongji University, Semyung University, Youngsan University, and Joongbu University.

Status of Universities Scheduled for Audit in 2021

To prevent educational corruption in advance, the Ministry will strengthen the accounting monitoring system for all private universities. It will identify and manage early warning signs in key accounting indicators and convert them into audits if abnormalities are detected. Key indicators include debt ratio change rate, carryover fund change rate, reserve fund usage ratio, tuition dependency ratio, corporate transfer ratio, revenue-generating basic property acquisition rate, and personnel expense ratio.

Online course content covering personnel, accounting, and admissions will be developed for key officials and staff. During comprehensive audits, exemplary cases of proactive administration or exemption cases will be identified and expanded to exclude audit penalties in cases without intentional or gross negligence.

A comprehensive audit support system will be established to systematically manage information and results related to audit activities from preparation, execution, to post-disposition follow-up stages.

To enhance audit effectiveness, requirements for requests for prosecution and investigation will be specified, and based on legal advice and re-examination results, prosecution or reporting actions will be taken.

To address the shortage of audit personnel, specialized audit experts will be actively utilized. The joint audit team (five members) will be maintained, and the term of citizen auditors will be extended from one year to two years to enhance stability and expertise.

Follow-up legislation for private school innovation will also be pursued. The Ministry plans to strive for the passage of pending bills in the National Assembly, including strengthening external accounting audits of private universities, restricting the return of corrupt executives, and enhancing supervisory authority over faculty and staff.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye stated, "Although private school innovation may be an issue for some private schools, its impact on our entire education system is significant, making it the starting point and core of restoring trust in education. We will complete audits of large-scale private universities that have never undergone comprehensive audits this year and establish a sound audit administration system."

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