Court Rules Russian PhDs Bogus

The Supreme Court Sunday ruled that doctorate degrees allegedly issued by a Russian national academy in Vladivostok, which were used by some to become professors or join a Korean national academy, were bogus.

Ending a three-year controversy started in 2006, the country's highest court observed that, in Russia, one has to undergo rigorous training of three to four years and a final test before getting a master of fine arts degree from a state institute. But what were presented as degrees in this case were nothing but a certificate that proved the holder had trained for two years in the pertinent institute.

With the ruling, the court overturned a ruling by a lower court that found a 54-year-old woman, identified with her family name, Do, not guilty of faking a doctorate degree. The court also overturned the not-guilty verdicts given to 19 others who acquired a job at college faculties and enlisted themselves at the Korean state arts academy.

According to court records, Do, a pianist, set up a firm to arrange for Korean arts students to study in Russia in 1998. She had allegedly received up to 10 million per student for several hours of lessons and a week-long visit to a Russian school before providing the students with degrees. She was arrested in 2005.

The lower courts said that the degrees Do had arranged for her students carried authentic signatures from a dean of the institute that issued them and so were valid.