Yoo Dam, Daughter of Former Lawmaker Yoo Seungmin, Delivers First Lecture at Incheon National University
"Appointed at an Unusually Rapid Pace"
Questions Raised Over Fairness of Recruitment Process
Yoo Dam, 31, daughter of former lawmaker Yoo Seungmin, who was recently appointed as a professor at Incheon National University, has become embroiled in controversy over the fairness of her recruitment process.
On September 2, Yoo delivered her first lecture at Incheon National University in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon. She was selected as an assistant professor in the Department of Trade at the College of Global Economics and Politics through the university’s 2025 second semester full-time faculty recruitment. Yoo, born in 1994, graduated from Dongguk University with a degree in law, earned a master’s in business administration from Yonsei University, and received a doctorate in business administration from Korea University. She is responsible for two elective courses in international business.
Once news of Yoo’s appointment became public, questions were raised within the university community regarding the recruitment process. A student, identifying as a freshman in the College of Global Economics and Politics at Incheon National University, recently posted a statement titled "Fairness Must Begin with Faculty Appointments" on the university community platform "Everytime."
The student wrote, "Through the media, I learned that Yoo, daughter of politician Yoo Seungmin, was appointed as an assistant professor in our university’s Department of Trade at the young age of 31. While some view the recruitment of young talent positively, many students, including myself, have deep questions regarding her unusually short career and background."
The student continued, "It is well known that the path to becoming a professor in academia is long and arduous. Typically, after earning a doctorate, one spends two to seven years working as a researcher or lecturer to build up achievements. However, despite being a recent graduate, Professor Yoo was appointed as a full-time faculty member less than a year after receiving her degree, starting from the second semester."
The student further stated, "We want to know transparently whether such an abnormally rapid appointment was possible based solely on her abilities. What are the specific research papers or achievements that allowed her to surpass so many competitors? In particular, the number of citations of her papers in academic databases is extremely low."
Additionally, the student emphasized, "Faculty appointments are a matter of fairness and the future of our university. We are not making baseless suspicions. Please answer whether her background as the daughter of a prominent politician had any influence on her appointment."
Meanwhile, Incheon National University clarified that Yoo is not the youngest professor ever appointed at the university, noting that there was a previous case in which a full-time faculty member was appointed at the age of 28.
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