Graduate students forced to write professors' papers

By Na Jeong-ju

One out of 10 graduate students at Seoul National University (SNU) ghostwrote more than one academic paper for the school’s professors, a survey showed Thursday.

The survey, conducted by the university’s human rights center on 1,352 graduate students, indicates that many professors are still using their status to force graduate students into writing papers that they then present as their own work.

“That’s because professors evaluate graduate students. They can’t help but accept the demands from the professors in order to obtain a degree,” the center stated in a press release.

Moreover, around 30 respondents said they were told by professors to provide money and gifts to get their degree.

Such ghostwriting practices are quite common in local universities because professors don’t consider it to be unethical plagiarism. About 7.3 percent of the respondents said they were even asked to give their thesis to school seniors or write a thesis on their behalf.

“Schools demand that professors write a certain number of papers each year to show their academic achievements. That’s important in terms of receiving funding and subsidies,” the center said. “It’s a common structural problem at local universities that should be urgently tackled by society.”

The survey showed that human rights abuses against graduate students are rampant. A female respondent said she had to dance on the table while drinking with other students and professors because she was told to do so by a male professor.

“One student even complained that he had to take care of a professor’s dog while the professor was abroad. There were some students who had to mow the grass at a professor’s house,” it said. “It goes without saying that there have been numerous reports about sexual harassment and abuses by male professors against female students.”

Last year, the university expelled a music professor for using violence and abusive behavior against her students. At the time, the school vowed to address human rights abuse by professors against students.

“The survey results show the situation has not improved,” the center said.