Yonsei University Creates New School Regulations Amid Allegations of 'Cho Kuk's Son' Admission Fraud?

Applicable to Graduate Students Admitted Before Regulation Enforcement Date
Yonsei University: "Admission Cancellation Only After Verification"

Yonsei University.
Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Yeeun] Recently, Yonsei University established a regulation that allows the cancellation of admission for students who were admitted through fraudulent documents or other dishonest means. This regulation applies even to students admitted before its implementation, making it possible to cancel the admission of Cho Mo (24), the son of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, if his admission is found to be fraudulent.

According to the office of Kwon Sang-do, a member of the People Power Party, on the 10th, Yonsei University responded to inquiries regarding "measures against Cho's admission cancellation" by stating that they have "prepared a draft for the establishment and revision of academic regulations related to admission cancellation in cases of fraudulent admission."

In materials submitted to Kwon's office through the Ministry of Education, the university explained, "We clarified the terminology by distinguishing reasons for disqualification before admission approval and reasons for cancellation after admission approval, and established grounds for admission cancellation in the 'Graduate School Committee Regulations'." They added, "To set the grounds and specific procedures for admission cancellation, we enacted the 'Regulations on Admission Cancellation Procedures and Handling,' which uniformly cover the admission cancellation procedures for both undergraduate and graduate schools."

The 'Regulations on Admission Cancellation Procedures and Handling,' enacted on the 26th of last month, define reasons for cancellation of acceptance or admission as △ false statements in submitted documents related to the admission process △ forgery or alteration of documents related to the admission process △ proxy testing or cheating △ other acts that significantly undermine the fairness of the admission process.

Furthermore, if such reasons occur, the decision to cancel acceptance or admission is made through a three-step process involving the Admission Fairness Management Committee (Admission Fairness Committee), the Academic Affairs Committee, and the President.

Notably, the supplementary provisions specify that "this regulation applies to students admitted before the enforcement date," which means that Cho, who was admitted in the first semester of 2018 and has already graduated, can also have his admission canceled.

Meanwhile, Yonsei University emphasized that the establishment of this regulation is not directly related to the controversy over Cho's fraudulent admission. A university official stated, "This regulation was not created with Cho in mind," adding, "It clearly codifies what is already stated in the recruitment guidelines, and an admission cancellation decision for Cho can only be made once the authenticity of the false certificate is verified."

Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, it was reported that Cho, the son of former Minister Cho, applied to the Department of Political Science and Diplomacy at Yonsei University's Graduate School in the first semester of 2018, submitting an internship certificate falsely issued by Choi Kang-wook, leader of the Open Democratic Party and then a lawyer at the law firm Cheongmaek, which led to his acceptance.

Choi was indicted in January last year on charges of obstructing the graduate school's work by issuing a false internship certificate to Cho, and was sentenced to imprisonment in the first trial held in January. The appeal trial is currently ongoing.

Meanwhile, at the trial on the 10th at the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 25-1 (Presiding Judges Ma Sung-young, Kim Sang-yeon, Jang Yong-beom) regarding the admission fraud charges against the children of the former Minister and his spouse, a Yonsei University staff member involved in the admission process testified that "Cho's application was unusual and the application process was unfair."

In particular, it was revealed that Cho initially submitted an application with the career section left blank, but later submitted seven additional career items, including the internship certificate issued by Choi. The staff member said, "While some students submitted required documents late, it was unusual for an applicant to revise the application itself as Cho did."

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