Four Professors Acquitted in Yonsei University Ice Hockey Admission Scandal

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] Four professors accused of passing certain applicants during the selection process for ice hockey sports talent recruitment have been acquitted.

The Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice Kim Seon-su) announced on the 26th that it upheld the lower court's verdict of not guilty for three Yonsei University Department of Physical Education professors, including Mr. A, who were charged with obstruction of business, and Professor B from Gyeongin National University of Education, an external evaluation committee member.

They were prosecuted for allegedly awarding passing scores to pre-selected applicants during the 2019 academic year Yonsei University sports talent recruitment process, resulting in their final acceptance.

The first trial recognized the guilt of all four individuals, sentencing Mr. A to two years in prison and the other three to one year and six months each. However, the second trial overturned the decision, ruling them not guilty due to lack of evidence that Mr. A and others conspired to commit admission fraud.

The second trial court stated, "Although there may have been some flaws in the evaluation procedure, there is no evidence regarding when, where, and what content the passing candidates were discussed, or who was pre-selected as a successful applicant, even if the evaluation results were consistent."

The Supreme Court also agreed with the second trial's judgment.

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