19 Former Jeonnam Provincial University Officials Referred to Prosecution for “Fake Students, Bribery”

Lectures Assigned to Unqualified Instructors in Exchange for Bribes
Improper Acts Committed to Prevent Department Closures, Including Paying Tuition on Behalf of Fake Students

Officials from the former Jeonnam Provincial University have been referred to the prosecution in large numbers for accepting bribes in exchange for assigning lectures to unqualified instructors and for recruiting fake students to avoid departmental closures.

The Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Unit of the Gwangju Police Agency announced on April 20 that it has forwarded 19 individuals, including former department head A and staff members, as well as unqualified lecturers, to the prosecution without detention on charges including bribery, obstruction of official duties by fraudulent means, and fraud.

Gwangju Police Agency building.

A and the others are accused of assigning lectures to instructors without proper qualifications between March 2023 and June 2025, and then receiving a portion of the lecture fees as kickbacks.

The investigation found that when certain departments—such as those in the arts and physical education—faced closure due to insufficient student enrollment, they recruited so-called “fake students” through private facilities to maintain enrollment numbers. During this process, they interfered with the university’s academic operations by paying tuition fees on behalf of these fake students.

Based on criminal intelligence, the police launched an investigation and determined that charges against 19 people—including faculty and lecturers who held key positions at the university, as well as students involved in the wrongdoing—were significant enough to refer the case to the prosecution.

Meanwhile, Jeonnam Provincial University had been pursuing a merger with Mokpo National University, and on March 1 of this year, the newly integrated university was launched under the name “Mokpo National University.” The misconduct uncovered in this case occurred during the operation of Jeonnam Provincial University prior to the merger.

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