University Professor Who Collected Student Council Fees into Personal Account to Buy a Car

Received student council fees from 80 freshmen
"Used by mistake due to card error" intentional embezzlement denied

A professor accused of using membership fees collected from freshmen for personal expenses such as vehicle purchase payments and fuel costs was sentenced to prison.

On the 14th, Judge Kim Do-yeon of the Criminal Division 7 at Daejeon District Court announced that Mr. A (49), who was tried on charges of fraud, embezzlement in the course of duty, and violation of the Subsidy Management Act, was sentenced to one year in prison.

A professor accused of using membership fees collected from freshmen for personal expenses such as vehicle purchase payments and fuel costs was sentenced to prison.
[Image source=Asia Economy]

Mr. A, a professor at a university in Daejeon, served as the head of a department at the university and received transfers of 250,000 to 670,000 KRW per person from 80 freshmen each year under the name of student council fees into his personal account. He is accused of embezzling 24 million KRW from the student council fees over 72 occasions from early January 2010 to the end of April 2019.

It was revealed that Mr. A used this money for personal purposes such as purchasing his vehicle, fuel costs, meal expenses, and condolence money. Additionally, around May 24, 2018, he submitted a false report to an administrative staff member claiming to have conducted employment mentoring for students and attached a receipt for 120,000 KRW paid at a restaurant to receive project funds from the Ministry of Education. Using the same method, he is accused of receiving and pocketing 4.8 million KRW in subsidies from the Ministry of Education until February 21, 2019.

He used a method of prepaying with a credit card by asking the restaurant owner to pretend that he had dinner with students.

Mr. A denied the intent to embezzle, claiming "I mistakenly used the card," but the court did not accept this.

The court stated, "The defendant frequently took the bankbook and check card, into which the student council fees were deposited, from the teaching assistant without clearly stating the purpose of use and made payments. He rarely submitted usage details or receipts. After the crime, he even asked security company personnel to give false statements and destroyed ledgers and bankbooks related to the student council fee crimes to try to destroy evidence."

The court further explained the sentencing, saying, "Due to the defendant's actions, students' trust in the execution of student council fees has deteriorated. Despite the considerable damage, including ongoing conflicts within the university, he has shown no remorse for his wrongdoing."

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