Nominee’s Career Inflation to Impede Assembly Hearing
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
A hearing to confirm Prime Minister-nominee Han Seung-soo is likely to be tougher than expected as the pro-government party is seeking to politicize Han's alleged inflation of academic positions he held at universities in England.
Han denied the allegation, saying a misconception of employment grades for British academics was behind the attack.
A National Assembly hearing for the nominee is scheduled to take place from tomorrow and will last until Thursday.
Rep. Kim Young-joo of the United New Democratic Party (UNDP) told reporters that the prime minister-nominee had used the word ``faculty'' (in Korean) member at the University of York and Cambridge University in his successful bids for four consecutive terms as a lawmaker.
``Now, he submitted certificates stating that he was a research fellow and assistant lecturer at the University of York from 1965 to 1968 and researcher at Cambridge University from 1968 to 1970 to the members of the National Assembly hearing,'' Kim said.
The female lawmaker explained she had contacted the British Embassy in Seoul and those two British university authorities to find out whether or not these two job titles correspond to a faculty position in Korea.
``My e-mail corresponding to these people said no,'' she said.
The UNDP lawmaker said Han was an assistant lecturer, which is not a faculty member, by presenting e-mail answers sent by the two universities and the British Embassy in Seoul.
Based on the answer from the embassy, Kim claimed the title of assistant lecturer should not be translated as a professor or faculty member in Korean as Han had used previously.
``Employment grades for British academics say that the starting position of faculty in British universities is lecturer, and senior lecturer, principal lecturer or reader and professor follow on the ladder of the university faculty positions,'' she said.
Nominee Han denied the allegation and said a lot of misconception is going on regarding the proper translation of his past academic positions with those universities.
``There are differences in employment grades for academics between Korea and Britain. I submitted certificates in English of my previous career in England to the lawmakers to avoid unnecessary confusion,'' Han said in a statement.
The nominee said he had taught international economics at the University of York and economics at Cambridge University (Emmanuel College).
In an e-mail correspondence with Kim, Prof. Peter Simmons of the University of York clarified the position assistant lecturer no longer exists, but those who held this position were responsible for research-roughly 40 percent of the time and teaching 60 percent.
Simmons said that assistant lecturer was ``just like a junior or young professor with a proper permanent contract.''
Han also said he was a co-author of two publications when he worked at the universities.