MIT affirms decision on minister's daughter

Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon / Korea Times photo by Ko Young-kwon

By Jane Han

Amid a controversy over the admission of the South Korean Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon's daughter, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) confirmed Friday that it stands by its decision to accept Alex Han.

``MIT Admissions takes academic integrity very seriously, and investigates reported incidents involving applicants. Appropriate action is taken based on the outcome of any review, and the Admissions Office does not discuss or disclose information pertaining to an applicant or their application materials,'' Sarah McDonnell, Deputy Director of Media Relations at MIT, told The Korea Times.

A Massachusetts Institute of Technology building / Screen captured from Instagram

``However, I can affirm that MIT continues to stand by its offer of admission to Ms. Han,'' she confirmed without further elaboration, adding, ``Out of respect for this student's privacy and the integrity of our admissions process, we have no further information or comment on this matter.''

In recent weeks, public anger has been intensifying over Han's acceptance into MIT as there have been allegations that the high school senior has plagiarized and overinflated other credentials.

A group of Korean moms in the U.S. have launched a Change.org petition demanding MIT reconsider the admission of Han. As of Friday, nearly 41,000 people have signed the petition exposing the student's alleged academic misconduct.

The U.S. university's latest response that it maintain its decision in keeping Han as a member of the incoming freshman class this fall is expected to upset already enraged parents here in the U.S.

``It's very disappointing,'' said Lee, who didn't want to be identified by her full name. ``I wonder what kind of review the school performed. I wonder if they thoroughly read through the compilation of documents showing Han's alleged misconduct.''

A 16-page compilation of Google Docs detailing the accusations against Han has been spreading online, urging and calling on the public to sign the petition on Change.org, the largest online petition site in the U.S.

``Was this a fight that was destined to be lost?'' said Kim Soo-young, 49, a mom of two high schoolers living in Seattle. ``Tens of thousands of people took action to make a change but was all this meaningless? Maybe. It's demoralizing thinking that the privileged class is living in a different world, but it is what it is.''