 Dongguk University President |
Staff Reporters
Dongguk University President Oh Young-kyo has called on Yale University to admit its mistake and live up to its reputation.
"Yale has a long and proud history that sets an example for other schools," Oh said in an interview with The Korea Times. "This means it should be honest about its mistakes and take due responsibility for them."
Oh's comments were in reference to ongoing litigation filed by his Buddhism-based university against the Ivy League school over Yale initially confirming that Shin Jeong-ah - who was later hired by Dongguk - had earned a Ph.D. there.
The Korean university gave Shin a position following Yale's confirmation in 2005. However, in 2007, when it rechecked the confirmation on rumors that Shin hadn't attend Yale, the American school first denied it had received a confirmation request at all, but was forced to admit to it only after being confronted by the faxed confirmation. This was the opening salvo of a scandal involving Shin and her lover, the then presidential aide Byeon Yang-koon, who acted as a sugar daddy, getting her preferential treatment illegally as she used his influence for personal gain
"I strongly believe that justice will eventually prevail," Oh said, adding the lawsuit has entered its third year.
Sources say that both sides have finished the "discovery" portion of the case and are focusing on the damages caused to Dongguk by Yale's action.
The former is demanding $50 million in damages incurred after the Korean school failed to win government approval to open a law school.
"The damages we suffered were exorbitant," Oh said, adding that he couldn't provide details because the lawsuit was ongoing.
When the scandal broke, Korean universities were in a do-or-die competition to win the right to open law schools, which they saw as an engine for future growth. The introduction of the U.S. law education system into Korea was being pushed in order to produce more lawyers and provide people with easier access to legal services.
Many schools similar to Dongguk in size won bids and are now opening such schools.
Oh said the hefty sum in damages his school is seeking from Yale was to make up for the loss. "I can't say," he said, citing the potential adverse effects any reference to the litigation could trigger, when asked whether his school would be open to a compromise on the amount.
"Our school officials are not contacting Yale officials and vice versa," Oh said, adding that their legal representatives were discussing the pertinent issues.
"Yale has a good law school so I expect it to obey the rule of law," he noted.
Shin served as curator of a big gallery and taught at Dongguk on her falsified Yale credentials before her fabricated education was debunked.
kswho@koreatimes.co.kr
