By Lee Hyo-sik
The education authorities have taken disciplinary action against Myungshin University, a four-year private university in Suncheon, South Jeolla Province, for embezzling tuition fees and falsifying student grades.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said Sunday that it withdrew its previous approval of the board of directors at the Shinmyung Foundation, which runs the university, and asked the prosecution to investigate former and incumbent school presidents over allegations of embezzlement, misuse of their positions and other wrongdoings.
The ministry also decided not to recognize the academic scores of Myungshin students as the school inflated the grades.
“While conducting an inspection last year on 13 private universities, which had long been suspected of being poorly managed, we discovered a series of irregularities at Myungshin, such as improper accounting and management. We then launched a full-scale audit of the university,” an official said.
The official said Myungshin will not be the last school to face such severe action, adding that the government will continue inspecting other suspected private colleges across the country.
The ministry removed seven board members and an auditor at the Shinmyung Foundation, as well as asking the prosecution to investigate former and incumbent Myungshin presidents, and their family members over the corruption allegations.
It said the founding family members have siphoned billions of won from the coffers since they established the school in March 2000 and used the money for personal purposes.
One former school president, surnamed Lee, embezzled a total of 3.3 billion won from 2000 through 2010, while his nephew who worked as the school’s finance manager took 6.3 billion won for his own use.
The ministry also demanded that the foundation return 4 billion won embezzled by the founding family to the university.
Additionally, university employees were found to have given undue credits to a total of 22,794 students who failed to meet attendance requirements over the years.
“We demanded that the school nullify grades of students who do not deserve them. Under the law, the school can file an objection to our decision by Aug. 11. If Myungshin does not comply with our measures, we will take steps to shut down the school and dissolve the foundation,” the ministry official said.
leehs@koreatimes.co.kr