Celebs face probe for admissions fraud

Noh Hyun-jung

Noh Hyun-jung, Park Sang-ah to be summoned later this month

By Bahk Eun-ji

The prosecution will summon about 10 parents, including several celebrities, for questioning over allegations that they relied on illegal methods to have their children admitted to foreign schools.

Among those facing the summons late this month are former television announcer Noh Hyun-jung, 32, and actress Park Sang-ah, 40, according to officials from the Incheon District Prosecutors’ Office.

Noh married Hyundai Group heir Chung Dae-sun in 2006 and they have a 7-year-old son. Chung, a grandson of Hyundai Group founder Chung Ju-yung, is the CEO of Hyundai BS&C.

Park, one of the most popular actresses in the late 90s and early 2000s married Chun Jae-yong, a son of former President Chun Doo-hwan in 2007.

Under the current law on foreign schools, students who have foreign citizenship or have resided for at least three years abroad or those who have a foreign parent are eligible to apply for enrollment at foreign schools.

The two celebrities are suspected of enrolling their children in these skills even though their kids don’t meet the requirements, according to the prosecution.

Investigators say that children of the two celebrities have lived overseas for less than three years, and their parents are all Korean.

“We are going to call in the parents soon as we have secured evidence that their children are not qualified to get admission to foreign schools,” a prosecutor said.

As an investigation of the admission got underway, Noh and Park transferred their children to other schools.

The prosecution’s investigation of admission fraud started in November when prosecutors indicted 47 Korean parents for illegally getting admissions for their children in foreign schools with fraudulent documents.

Noh and Park were not included in the November indictment.

Some of the indicted parents used forged passports and fabricated immigration documents.

On Tuesday, the Incheon District Court sentenced 21 of the 47 indicted parents to six to 10 months in prison, which were suspended for two years. They were also ordered to do 80 to 200 hours of community service.

Most of the convicted parents are lawyers, doctors, and owners of big companies.

“They deserve harsh punishment for their misconduct. These rich parents disappointed many ordinary parents seeking to get an equal opportunity in terms of education for their children,” said presiding judge Seo Chang-seok in the ruling.

Three brokers who received 40 million won to 150 million won from parents for forging documents and passports were sentenced to up to 30 months in prison.

The government has eased eligibility rules for enrollment to foreign schools, relaxing the obligatory stay in foreign countries to three from five years in 2009. The proportion of Korean students at foreign schools also rose to 50 percent from the previous 30 percent.