Published : Jan. 31, 2021 - 10:10
Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae speaks during an interview with Yonhap News Agency in Seoul on Friday. (Yonhap)
Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae has said the ministry will handle the alleged college admission fraud involving the daughter of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk according to "law and principle."
"I know college admission fairness is a grave social topic that receives high public attention," the minister said during an interview with Yonhap News Agency on Friday, adding that the ministry has been dealing with the matter sternly without exception, and will continue to do so.
She referred to two high-profile recent college admission scandals, involving Cho's daughter and a daughter of Lee Kyung-tae, former senior vice president of the international campus of Yonsei University.
Last month, Chung Kyung-sim, Cho's wife, was found guilty of academic fraud and other wrongdoings, and sentenced to four years in prison. She was accused of fabricating documentation between 2013-2014, including a college presidential citation, in order to get her daughter admitted to medical school.
Lee Kyung-tae, an accounting professor at Yonsei, has been under investigation after being accused of engaging in fraudulent admission of his daughter last year.
Amid a growing public outcry over the current college admission system, which critics say favors students with rich and powerful parents, the ministry announced in November to revamp college admission policy.
The ministry will continue working on improving the system "as promised," she said, while remaining cautious mentioning the on-going legal cases.
Previously, she said the ministry was "legally reviewing" the claim that Cho's daughter's admission to a medical school should be canceled because it was based on fraudulent academic credentials. (Yonhap)