Spate of arrests in Ewha University ‘favours’ scandal

The repercussions of the scandal over the admission to a prestigious women’s university in Seoul of Chung Yoo-ra, daughter of the South Korean president’s confidante Choi Soon-sil, are beginning to take their toll, with a spate of arrests on charges related to criminal corruption and academic fraud.

Ewha Womans University Professor Ryu Chul-kyun was arrested in early January as part of an investigation into the Ewha affair by an independent counsel team. Namkung Gon, former head of admissions at Ewha Womans University, was arrested on 11 January.

The arrest of Chung, 20, in the Danish city of Aalborg on 1 January by Danish police, officially on charges of overstaying her visa to that country, sparked headlines around the world. The South Korean authorities have begun the process of requesting Chung’s extradition to face questions about her role in her preferential admission to Ewha Womans University in Seoul.

Chung is under investigation for allegedly receiving preferential treatment from the university in admissions and grades, but failed to appear before two parliamentary hearings in Seoul after being summoned.

Chung’s admission to Ewha has gripped the South Korean public, and not just because of the links to the political scandal involving her mother, Choi, that led to a 9 December National Assembly vote to impeach the country’s president, Park Geun-hye. The country is obsessed with the hugely competitive examinations for university entry, with families spending huge amounts to prepare students for those exams, so attempts to short-circuit the admission process by corrupt means is a major issue in the country.

In addition, a tough new anti-corruption law known popularly as the Kim Young-ran Act – named after the former Supreme Court judge who drafted it – came into force in September 2016, and includes employees of educational institutions. It targets teachers and professors who accept bribes to give students better grades, with offenders liable to face big fines or even prison terms.

Chung speaks

Interviewed by South Korean journalists at the Danish courthouse in Aalborg on 3 January, two days after her arrest, Chung said she had received her grades from Ewha after she and her mother met with Ryu and then Ewha Womans University president Choi Kyung-hee.

In a video recorded during the interview, she told the journalists in Korean. “I had never attended the class at the time, so I did not even know who my professor was.”

Chung added she had asked her mother to allow her to drop out of Ewha. “I thought I would automatically be kicked out because of my poor attendance record,” and claimed she did not know the reasons behind her passing grade.

Additional allegations have surfaced related to favours provided to Chung to further her equestrian career by the giant Korean company Samsung Electronics, part of the influence peddling allegations against her mother Choi who was jailed in October and is facing trial on charges of abuse of power, attempted fraud and bribery. Choi denies all the charges.

Samsung allegedly pledged KRW22 billion (US$18.7 million) for Chung’s equestrian training.

Speaking in English through an interpreter, Chung told the Aalborg Court on 3 January that Samsung had bought her a pure-bred horse. She claimed she was “merely an equestrian” and was completely oblivious to any influence-peddling that may have prompted the conglomerate's generosity, South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported.

"Mum did everything. I don't know anything," she reportedly told the court.

According to the independent counsel team investigating the scandal, her mother spoke frequently with then Ewha University president Choi Kyung-hee, who resigned from the university in October. Choi Kyung-hee testified at a 15 December National Assembly parliamentary hearing on the corruption scandal that she had only met Chung’s mother twice.

But an official of the independent counsel told journalists last week it may press charges of perjury against the former university president, after their investigation had found phone records that showed the university president had spoken “a multitude of times” to Choi and her daughter.

Professors charged

Namkung Gon was arrested after the Seoul Central District Court said on Tuesday that it recognised the charges against him, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said.

A Ministry of Education investigation conducted late last year revealed that Namkung urged faculty members to select an Asian Games gold medallist ahead of the admissions interviews.

The admissions office rejected two applicants with higher evaluation scores than Chung, who won a gold medal in the team dressage equestrian event during the Incheon Asian Games in 2014.

Namkung is also suspected of perjury after he said during a parliamentary hearing on the corruption scandal on 15 December that Ewha University provided no such favours.

Professor Ryu’s arrest is related to allegations that he offered “inappropriate academic favours” to Chung, including falsely giving her passing grades in assignments and exams at Ewha. Notably, Ryu is under investigation on suspicions of having a teaching assistant sit Chung’s exam at Ewha, while Chung was reportedly in Germany where she was resident before moving to Denmark in October or November 2016.

Ryu allegedly threatened his reluctant assistant into helping to submit an exam paper for his class on film studies, even though Chung did not attend lessons or take the exam. Chung was found to have earned a passing grade from Ryu’s class held in the 2016 spring semester.

Both Ryu and Namkung deny the charges.

The ministry of education declared in November that Chung’s admission to the university should be revoked after its official investigation lasting several weeks found the university had manipulated admissions rules.

Chung’s South Korean passport was annulled by the South Korean authorities on 11 January. The extradition process is expected to take at least a month.

University World News Asia Editor, Yojana Sharma contributed to this article.