Professor and Graduate Student Dies After Overseas Business Trip... Soongsil University "Misconduct Confirmed"

"Will Rectify the Situation Through Legal Procedures"
"Will Not Make Any Compromises"

Soonchunhyang University announced that, as a result of an investigation into the graduate student's death incident that occurred early last year, misconduct by Professor A, who verbally abused the deceased, was confirmed.

The university's Special Countermeasures Committee stated in a follow-up statement on the "Verbal Abuse by Professor" incident, "After forming a special audit and fact-finding committee and conducting an investigation, matters judged to be misconduct were discovered," adding, "We plan to take prompt follow-up measures."

It continued, "(Professor A) caused discomfort by sending emails containing content that damaged the honor of the deceased and their bereaved family to the university members using the Faculty Council account," and added, "Going forward, the university will strictly respond, including legal action, against the improper use of official university email accounts for personal purposes and the distribution of inappropriate content not based on facts."

Soongsil University. [Photo by Yonhap News]

The Special Countermeasures Committee also reported that all lawsuits filed by Professor A against the counseling and human rights center staff who conducted the investigation were dismissed with a "no charges" decision. It further stated, "(Professor A) caused serious harm to the staff involved and simultaneously caused unnecessary administrative burden to the university," adding, "We will rectify this incident through lawful procedures and methods, and there will be no compromise during the process."

This incident arose after a graduate student who attended the world's largest electronics and IT exhibition, CES, in Las Vegas, USA, with Professor A in January last year, died three days after returning to Korea. Soonchunhyang University's Human Rights Committee revealed investigation results showing that during the event, Professor A assigned excessive work to the deceased and verbally abused them in front of other students.

Based on the investigation results, the Human Rights Committee decided on a severe disciplinary action and referred Professor A to the disciplinary committee; however, the disciplinary committee issued a mild reprimand, sparking controversy.

Since the university regulations did not allow an appeal against the disciplinary committee's decision, Soonchunhyang University instead accepted the resignation of all disciplinary committee members, restructured the committee, and promised a thorough investigation through a special audit and fact-finding committee.