Arrest Warrant for Disgraced Curator Rejected

By Kim Rahn

Staff Reporter

A local court Tuesday rejected the prosecution's request to issue an arrest warrant for 35-year-old former assistant professor Shin Jeong-ah on charges she fabricated her academic credentials and interfered in institutions' performance of their duty.

As a result, observers forecast that prosecutors could have difficulty in further investigating other charges against Shin, and alleged influence-peddling by former presidential policy planner Byeon Yang-kyoon, Shin's long-time patron.

A judge at the Seoul Western District Court turned down the request saying Shin, who faked her Yale University Ph.D., is unlikely to destroy evidence as prosecutors have already secured enough.

In mid-July when suspicions about her academic credentials emerged, Shin left for the U.S. Regarding this, the judge said that the departure was not ``flight'' as the prosecution had not started an investigation at that time and that she returned to Korea voluntarily to face questioning.

``It is Shin's first time to be accused of a crime. Also, she may not receive a jail term as the nation does not have clear legal standards about penalties related to such charges. So, the chances are very low that she may flee,'' the judge said.

Following the decision, Shin was freed to return home.

According to the prosecution, Shin forged her diplomas that appeared to show she obtained a Ph.D. at Yale and degrees from the University of Kansas, and was appointed as an assistant professor at Dongguk University and as a director for the 2008 Gwangju Biennale. The university and the biennale foundation are currently suing her for the forgery and interfering in the performance of their duty.

She also worked as a part-time lecturer at four universities with the forged diplomas.

Prosecutors suspect her ``sugar daddy'' Byeon of peddled influence to get her employed.

Shin reportedly acknowledged most of the charges. But she kept insisting that she had been deceived by an American tutor, named John Tracy, who Shin claimed had helped her write her doctorate thesis.

``Shin acknowledges that she totally relied on Tracy in writing and submitting the thesis. But she has believed she really obtained a Yale Ph.D. through Tracy. It seems that Tracy was a broker and deceived Shin, and there might be a connection between Tracy and professors at Yale,'' Shin's lawyer Park Jong-rok said.

The prosecution planned to further investigate misappropriation and breach of trust allegations after arresting her. She allegedly embezzled funds from Sungkok Art Museum, where she worked as a curator, and used the money for investing in stocks.

Shin also allegedly applied for a debt workout program to a court with forged documents about her financial status.

Another allegation is being looked into that Byeon abused his power to have large companies provide sponsorship to art exhibitions Shin organized. Prosecutors are investigating whether those companies got favors from Byeon in exchange for the sponsorship.

Through her lawyer, Shin denied her allegedly close relationship with Byeon, saying he was just an intimate alumnus and she has never asked for his help in attracting companies' sponsorship.

The prosecution plans to summon Byeon as early as today, following its first questioning of him on Sunday.