Hongik Accused of Opaque Handling of Admission Fraud
By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
Hongik University, known for its excellent art courses, is under fire for its reluctance to deal with admission irregularities resolutely and transparently.
"It is really terrible. It's abuse of power and professors involved in admission corruption should be fired," a professor of the university told The Korea Times. "They should be made an example to prevent future irregularities. Hongik is regarded as the No.1 university for the arts and the school should take the case seriously to maintain its reputation," he said on condition of anonymity.
The latest case came to light in April last year when Kim Seung-yeon, a professor in the college of fine arts, accused seven colleagues of favoring certain graduate school applicants during the selection process.
Facing public pressure, the university conducted an internal investigation, but only two professors were disciplined - one was suspended for two months and the other had his salary reduced.
The two were found to have asked the admissions board to favor certain applicants, one of them being the son of one of the two professors.
The professor also showed his son's paintings in advance to the selection committee. The other five accused professors went unpunished, forcing Prof. Kim to take the matter to the prosecutors. Facing pressure, the school backpedalled. Jeong Eun-soo, chief of the school's academic affairs, told The Korea Times that two more professors would be suspended. "We will officially make public the investigation results this month," he said. This is not the first time that this university has been mired in admissions-related irregularities. However, the latest case came at a time when there are few involving reputable colleges and universities.
Interestingly enough, Hongik students are not up in arms over the corruption scandal.
Students showed little concern about the irregularities and the school's lack of transparency in handling them.
"I don't usually read newspapers and have not heard about the news," a sophomore told The Korea Times. Another student majoring in business administration said, "It is not my department and I don't want to be bothered with those kinds of stories."
Art students also appear to be unconcerned. "Admissions fraud often occurs at arts schools and I think it will not easily disappear," said a female graduate student of the college.
"We have not discussed the problems and have no stance on the issue, although we know about the corruption scandal," said Han Ah-rum, leader of the students' council.