Education Ministry Hands Over to Kookmin University: "Necessary Actions Required for Kim Geon-hee's False Academic Credentials and Career" (Comprehensive)

Ministry of Education: "Kookmin University Must Verify Academic Background and Work Experience and Take Necessary Measures"
Applicant for Adjunct Professor at Kookmin University Listed Master's in Business Administration and Associate Professor
Actually Holds Master's from Graduate School of Business, Part-Time Lecturer and Industry-Academic Adjunct Faculty
Mr. Kim Hired Without Interview, Violated Faculty Standards for Doctoral Dissertation Review
Acquired and Disposed 300,000 Shares of Deutsche Motors Without Board Approval
Warning Issued to Kookmin University Corporate Chairman, Investigation Requested for Breach of Trust and Embezzlement of Advisory Fees

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The Ministry of Education has announced the results of an audit on Kookmin University. It was revealed that Kim Gun-hee, wife of Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, submitted false academic and career information on her application for a non-regular faculty position and was hired without an interview. According to Kookmin University's internal regulations, 'appointment cancellation' is possible, and the Ministry of Education has instructed Kookmin University to take action independently.

On the 25th, the Ministry of Education held the 23rd Education Trust Recovery Promotion Team meeting to discuss the results of a special audit on Kookmin University, a special audit on national university education, research, and student guidance expenses, and improvement plans for the non-regular faculty appointment system.

On that day, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye said, "The research verification regarding allegations of plagiarism in the master's thesis at Gachon University and the doctoral dissertation at Kookmin University, which were raised by both ruling and opposition parties during last year's national audit, is currently underway at both Kookmin University and Gachon University. The Ministry of Education has administratively ensured that both universities adhere to research ethics principles."

Regarding the People Power Party's report to the prosecution accusing Deputy Prime Minister Yoo Eun-hye of exerting undue pressure related to Kim's thesis the day before the announcement of the Kookmin University special audit, Deputy Prime Minister Yoo said, "I deeply regret that the prosecution report filed by a specific political party just one day before the announcement of the Kookmin University special audit is an inappropriate act that undermines the lawful and legitimate performance of administrative duties."

Kim Gun-hee's False Academic and Career Records... Ministry of Education: "Kookmin University Must Take Action"

Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, and his wife Kim Gun-hee, CEO of Kobana Contents, are making a public apology on the 26th at the party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, regarding allegations of false credentials. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

The audit results of Kookmin University revealed that during the process of appointing Kim Gun-hee as an adjunct professor, Kookmin University did not properly verify her false career information and did not conduct an interview during her hiring process.

Kim stated on her application for the adjunct faculty position at Kookmin University that she held a master's degree in Business Administration from University A, but her actual academic qualification was a Master of Business Administration from the Graduate School of Business at University A. She also listed her career as an associate professor (adjunct) at University B from March 2005 to August 2007, but in reality, she worked as a part-time lecturer at University B from March 2005 to August 2006 and as an industry-academic adjunct faculty member from September 2006 to August 2007.

In response, the Ministry of Education demanded that Kookmin University verify the academic and career information on the application forms and take necessary measures according to Kookmin University's appointment regulations concerning the inadequate screening of non-regular faculty appointments. According to Article 18 of Kookmin University's regulations on non-regular faculty appointments, "If false information is found in the statements or submitted documents of a non-regular faculty member at the time of appointment, the appointment shall be canceled as of the date of issuance."

The Ministry of Education noted that although Kookmin University's internal regulations specify that appointment cancellation is possible, there are no provisions in higher-level laws such as the Higher Education Act regarding sanctions for false career information related to non-regular faculty, so the Ministry did not make a direct judgment and passed the responsibility to Kookmin University.

An official from the Ministry of Education said, "The facts related to Kim were confirmed during the adjunct faculty appointment process in the 2014 academic year, and the necessary measures should be judged by Kookmin University according to the regulations at that time. The university operating the regulations should decide how to apply the internal rules based on the notified contents. We will judge after reviewing the actions taken following the audit results notification."

During the second semester of 2007, Kookmin University violated the standard that thesis committee members for Kim's doctoral dissertation must be faculty members of assistant professor level or higher by including one full-time lecturer in the committee. Additionally, no interviews were conducted for Kim and another candidate because they were alumni of the same university. The Ministry of Education plans to require Kookmin University to establish disqualification criteria for committee members in the faculty hiring process.

Disposal of 300,000 Shares of Deutsch Motors Without Board Resolution... 500 Million KRW Loss

It was also revealed that Kookmin University acquired and disposed of Deutsch Motors shares without board approval and signed an advisory contract with an unqualified person, paying advisory fees amounting to 691.09 million KRW.

Kookmin University sold Deutsch Motors shares at a price lower than the acquisition price. The audit showed that 300,000 shares of Deutsch Motors were acquired for 2.624 billion KRW and disposed of for 2.119 billion KRW. The scale and number of shares acquired are larger than those disclosed during the national audit.

The acquisition details of securities, including Deutsch Motors shares, amounted to 32 billion KRW (33 cases) as income-generating basic assets and were disposed of for 36.7 billion KRW (33 cases). As ordinary assets, securities worth 18.5 billion KRW (45 cases) were acquired and disposed of for 20.7 billion KRW (45 cases). From 2017 to 2021, Kookmin University did not undergo corporate board deliberation and approval or obtain approval from the competent authority (for basic assets) when acquiring or disposing of stocks.

The Ministry of Education issued a warning to the chairman of the Kookmin Academy school corporation and demanded severe disciplinary action against the head of the Kookmin Academy business headquarters. Regarding the suspicion of breach of trust and embezzlement for signing an investment advisory contract and paying advisory fees to an unregistered financial investment business operator under the Capital Markets Act, the Ministry plans to request a police investigation.

Deputy Prime Minister Yoo said, "We demanded that Kookmin University verify the academic and career information on Kim's appointment application and take measures in accordance with regulations such as appointment cancellation. The Ministry of Education will require personnel and administrative actions based on the audit findings and plans to request an investigation into embezzlement and breach of trust suspicions related to investment advisory contracts with unqualified persons for stock acquisitions."

Strengthening Sanctions for False Career Records of Non-Regular Faculty and Promoting System Improvements

On the same day, the Ministry of Education discussed legal and institutional improvement plans to prevent false academic and career information when universities appoint non-regular faculty. The Ministry plans to amend the Higher Education Act to adopt the reasons for dismissal of teachers stipulated in the Private School Act as grounds for sanctions against false academic and career misconduct by non-regular faculty. Procedures will be revised to strengthen verification of candidates' academic and career backgrounds when universities newly appoint faculty.

The Ministry will amend the 'Enforcement Decree of the Educational Officials Act' to clearly stipulate that the consistency of academic and career information of candidates must be verified during the basic screening for new university faculty recruitment. The 'University Lecturer System Operation Manual' will be supplemented to strengthen verification procedures requiring universities to review application documents and supporting materials when appointing non-regular faculty.

The Ministry of Education plans to revise the University Lecturer System Operation Manual in February and submit amendments to the 'Enforcement Decree of the Educational Officials Act' and the 'Higher Education Act' to the National Assembly in the first half of the year.

Deputy Prime Minister Yoo said, "To strengthen the publicness, fairness, and transparency of education, we have handled recruitment corruption, admission fraud, research misconduct, and sexual misconduct based on laws and principles without exception, and will continue to respond strictly to acts that undermine trust in the education field and continuously improve laws and systems."

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