Yonsei University Disciplines Staff Over Jo Guk's Son's Admission Document Disposal... Considering Admission Cancellation

Yonsei University Disciplines 75 Faculty and Staff for Failing to Preserve Admission Screening Materials
Mandatory 4-Year Retention Ignored... Jo Guk's Son's Admission Score Sheets Discarded
Yonsei University "Considering Forming Committee to Discuss Admission Cancellation"

Yonsei University / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Yonsei University is proceeding with disciplinary actions against faculty and staff who discarded the graduate school admission documents of Cho Mo, son of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk. The university is also considering forming a committee to discuss whether to cancel Cho's admission.

According to data submitted by the Ministry of Education to the office of Kwak Sang-do, a member of the National Assembly's Education Committee from the People Power Party, Yonsei University is disciplining 75 faculty and staff members related to the failure to prepare and preserve graduate school admission screening documents, which was uncovered during a comprehensive audit by the Ministry of Education in 2019.

Among those requiring disciplinary action for failure to preserve admission screening documents, 67 were faculty and staff. Of these, 33 received warnings, and procedures for disciplinary actions against the remaining medium and severe cases are ongoing.

In July 2019, the Ministry of Education's comprehensive audit of Yonsei University revealed that graduate school admission screening documents from the second semester of the 2016 academic year through the second semester of the 2019 academic year had not been preserved. Graduate school admission documents must be preserved for at least four years.

Disciplinary Status Related to Non-Preparation and Non-Preservation of Graduate School Admission Screening Materials During Yonsei University Comprehensive Audit (Data Provided by Assemblyman Gwak Sang-do's Office)

The admission screening documents that were not preserved also included the graduate school entrance exam score sheet of the former Minister Cho's son. Cho applied to Yonsei University's integrated master's and doctoral program in Political Science and Diplomacy in the second semester of the 2017 academic year but was rejected; he reapplied the following semester and was accepted.

Choi Kang-wook, leader of the Open Democratic Party, issued a false internship certificate to Cho in 2017 while working as a lawyer at the law firm Cheongmaek. Cho submitted this internship certificate to both Korea University and Yonsei University graduate school admissions and was accepted by both.

Choi was sentenced to eight months in prison with a two-year probation in the first trial for the charge of obstruction of business for issuing the false internship certificate to Cho and has appealed. As the first trial recognized the charge of issuing a false internship certificate as guilty, public opinion has grown that Cho's graduate school admission should be canceled.

Yonsei University's graduate school admission guidelines for the 2018 academic year stipulate that "if it is confirmed that admission was obtained through false statements, forgery of submitted documents, or other fraudulent methods, the admission or enrollment will be canceled."

Yonsei University stated, "We are currently reviewing the formation of a committee to discuss future measures such as canceling Cho's admission or disciplinary actions." In September 2019, prosecutors conducted a search and seizure at Yonsei University's graduate school and secured materials related to the admission screening process.

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