Myeongji University Staff Illegally Disposed School Property Land Worth 43.5 Billion Won for 2 Billion Won...

101 Professors and Staff Caught in Ministry of Education Audit
Professor Who Falsified Documents for 'Spouse Consultation' Also Detected

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] Over 100 people, including professors and staff of Myongji University and the Myongji Academy Foundation, were collectively found to have committed violations during a comprehensive audit by the Ministry of Education.

On the 21st, the Ministry of Education announced the results of the comprehensive audit of the Myongji Academy Foundation and Myongji University, revealing that 101 professors and staff members were subject to personnel actions requested by the foundation and the university. The disciplinary levels requested include 1 case of severe disciplinary action (dismissal), 5 cases of moderate disciplinary action, and 95 cases of warnings or admonitions. Severe disciplinary actions include dismissal, termination, or suspension, while moderate disciplinary actions include salary reductions or reprimands.

First, staff member A was found to have improperly transferred ownership of 17 parcels of educational property land to a contractor, despite the contractor having paid only 2 billion KRW out of the 43.5 billion KRW purchase price for 18 parcels of land last year. According to current law, when entering into a contract, a deposit of at least 10% of the contract amount must be paid, and ownership is transferred only after the full payment is completed.

A was found to have arbitrarily handed over a power of attorney necessary for the land ownership transfer registration, the corporate registry, and the corporate seal certificate to the contractor without authorization from the foundation. The Ministry of Education recommended dismissal for A, and it was confirmed that A is currently serving a prison sentence on charges of breach of trust following a complaint filed by the university during the audit period.

Additionally, Professor B of Myongji University was caught embezzling tens of millions of won in research funds over a nine-month period starting in October 2020. When participating as a research assistant for a project in October 2020, B drafted a request for expert consultation involving his spouse, personally wrote the document, and paid his spouse a consultation fee of 10 million KRW.

Using this method, B illegally embezzled a total of 34 million KRW in research funds over 36 instances. The Ministry of Education requested moderate disciplinary action against B from the university headquarters and notified the government department that provided the research project of the facts.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Education also uncovered cases where Myongji Academy Foundation specially hired two employees as corporate office staff without prior recruitment plans and transferred them to the university, and cases where, during faculty recruitment major evaluations, the evaluation committee was composed solely of internal reviewers without appointing external members.