Former National University Professor and Newspaper Executive Sentenced to Prison for Receiving Large Sums Under the Pretext of Faculty Recruitment

Court: "Trust in educational institutions seriously damaged, aggravating the nature of the crime"

Gyeongnam Changwon Court.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporters Jonggu Song and Seryeong Lee] A former national university professor and an executive of a local newspaper company were sentenced to prison by the court for receiving large sums of money from prospective professor applicants under the pretext of facilitating employment.

On the 8th, Judge Minsang Kim of the Criminal Division 1 at Changwon District Court sentenced former Changwon University professor A, who was arrested and indicted on charges of bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, to two years in prison and ordered a confiscation of 100 million won.

Additionally, former executive B of a certain newspaper company, who was arrested and tried alongside A on charges of receiving money and gifts in violation of the Act on the Prohibition of Improper Solicitation and Graft, was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to confiscate 330 million won.

A and B were prosecuted for receiving approximately 100 million won and 200 million won respectively from prospective professor applicants in 2016, while they were still in office, under the pretext of facilitating employment.

They reportedly claimed they could influence the hiring process and promised to request the university officials to secure the positions.

However, no job postings were made, and when the damages were not fully reimbursed, the victims filed a complaint with the police earlier this year.

The court stated, "The defendants received large sums of money under the pretext of professor hiring requests and used the funds individually," adding, "They seriously undermined the fairness of the hiring process and the trust in educational institutions, making the crime particularly grave."

Furthermore, the court noted, "In B's case, the sentence was determined considering additional violations of the Attorney-at-Law Act."

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