Ministry orders full investigation of professors in sex abuse cases

By Lee Kyung-min

The Ministry of Education has ordered universities to fully investigate allegations of sexual abuse against professors, rather than just accepting their resignations, officials said Sunday.

The professors will be subject to a thorough internal investigation and due punishment, which many aggressors have dodged by resigning.

This maneuver puts an end to any internal probe and also guarantees them severance pay, pension, and a clean record to seek new teaching jobs.

Vowing to take stern measure against such professors, officials said the new regulation would serve as a deterrent.

“By this measure, which is first of its kind, we expect a substantial decrease in the number of professors using resignation as some sort of safe haven. Further, we are considering imposing penalties on universities whose personnel are involved in sexual abuse,” a ministry official said.

“Professors sexually abusing students is a grave crime, and our ministry takes it very seriously,” the official added.

The move comes after a slew of sexual abuse allegations involving professors from the nation’s most prestigious universities, including Seoul National University (SNU) and Korea University (KU).

On Dec. 3, an SNU professor, Kang Seok-jin, was arrested on allegations of molesting 22 students over the past 10 years.

Last week another SNU faculty member, a dentistry professor surnamed Paik, was accused of trying to touch and kiss one of his students repeatedly since January.

Also, an engineering professor at KU was investigated over allegations that he sexually harassed a graduate student for six months.