Korean parents in US enraged by MIT admission of justice minister's daughter

Captured image of Change.org petition demanding Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) reconsider the admission of the daughter of South Korean Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon. Screen captured from Change.org

By Jane Han

SAN FRANCISCO ― For Korean moms in the U.S., this college admissions season isn't just about a record-breaking year of competition. It's about setting the record straight with one of America's most prestigious universities regarding their recent acceptance of a Korean student.

A group of Korean moms launched a Change.org petition demanding Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) reconsider the admission of the daughter of South Korean Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon.

In less than a week, close to 40,000 people have signed the petition exposing the teenager's alleged plagiarism of numerous published papers, academic misconduct and exaggeration of awards and activities.

``What if student A did not report in her MIT application any of the fabricated research articles and math workbooks … or the scholarly article on U.S. national debt that she outsourced to a ghostwriter in Kenya? What if student A earned her MIT acceptance based entirely on her sole true merit?'' states the petition live on Change.org, the largest online petition site in the U.S.

``While we will never know what material was included in her application to MIT, the truth stands that student A attempted to embellish her resume in unethical ways. Her MIT acceptance is not a chance episode that can be examined independently of its societal background and context,'' the petition argues. ``Her acceptance signals a major red flag for justice and fairness in today's college admissions system, which is already fraught with tension and inequality due to manipulations from the privileged class.''

The scandal surrounding Han is stirring up public anger particularly among Korean parents here in the U.S. as students are facing unprecedented competition in getting into colleges and universities across the board.

The college admissions process has changed drastically after the pandemic where standardized tests like the SAT and ACT are no longer required for admissions in many colleges and universities.

What this means is more students who are not satisfied with their test scores will still apply to schools, especially if they have high GPAs.

Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon / Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoon

The uptick in usage of the Common Application, a streamlined college application system that enables students to easily apply to multiple institutions at once, has also contributed to schools getting swamped with applications.

Despite receiving a higher volume of applications, the number of space available in schools remain largely unchanged.

This year's acceptance rates at Ivy League schools hit another record low at just three to four percent.

The intensifying competition doubled with U.S. schools' heavy emphasis on extracurricular activities, demonstrating leadership and community involvement have cornered many ambitious Korean parents and their college-bound children into a tough position, hence the heightened sensitivity to issues like the latest scandal.

``This is what I call cutthroat,'' said Lee, who didn't want to be identified by her full name. Her 12th-grade son applied to 16 schools and only received two acceptance letters from his backup schools. ``Our worst nightmare became reality. I still cannot get over the fact that he got rejected from 14 schools despite his way above average GPA and test scores.''?

She said competition is spiraling out of control even for second-tier schools.?

``The last thing parents need is news that some entitled student got into a top school with untruthful credentials,'' said Lee.?

Another parent who also attended university in the U.S. expresses disbelief in the latest college admissions trend.

``During my time, the school I attended accepted 40 percent of applications,'' said Kim, who also wanted to be partially named. ``Now, they're taking just 20 percent. I probably wouldn't have made the cut either if I applied today.''

Enraged parents of Korean students continue to take action beyond signing the petition by contacting MIT admissions staff individually.

Sample letters voicing concern over Han's acceptance have been posted on various popular online Korean communities.?

Users have been encouraging each other to speak up and do more.

``One letter may not make a change, but our collective effort will make MIT reconsider Han's acceptance,'' wrote one user. ``Think of Han's spot as your own child's that has been wrongfully taken away.''