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[garykasparov]

1> http://www.koreaherald.com/
2> National
3> Fake degree scandal hits sports figures

Fake degree scandal hits sports figures

Prosecutors in Suwon are investigating an alleged fake-degree scandal involving leading sports figures and professors.

An instructor at a university in Gyeonggi Province filed a complaint with the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office on Dec. 13 alleging that physical education professors have sold academic degrees for millions of won.

About 20 people were named, including nine professors, a former national table tennis coach, a former pro-baseball team coach, the chief of a sports association, and an executive with the provincial sports association. Also implicated are a pro-baseball player and four students and graduates.

This matter comes amid a spate of recent bogus-degree scandals involving celebrities, and is likely to exacerbate the public's distrust of academia.

The instructor completed a doctoral program at the school, and worked as an instructor until late last year.

"I was full of skepticism as a teacher because I witnessed such blatant deviance by full-time professors. I lodged this complaint to prevent my fellows from being victimized," the accuser was quoted by Yonhap News as saying.

The instructor claimed that a professor received 3 million won ($3,190) from a student, in exchange for writing a master's thesis on her behalf. That professor allegedly pocketed an additional 2.5 million won after she was admitted to a doctoral program, the accuser added.

The instructor also claimed that one female pro baseball player graduated from the school without even getting the required number of credits. Some professors fabricated her school grades, he said.

He additionally claimed that he has recordings of telephone conversations and internet-messenger communications made between those involved.

A researcher in a doctoral program told The Korea Herald that bribery involving professors and students is no surprise to him.

"Those who seek degrees just for the sake of climbing the ladder, not so as to delve deeply into a field of studies, tend to rely on such illicit means. I have witnessed such bribery cases many times," he added, on condition of anonymity.

By Song Sang-ho

([email protected])

2007.12.24

[boyne11]

They will blame the foreigner teachers again.

[some waygug-in]

Are those involved foreigners? I didn't see anything in the article about it.

[antoniothegreat]

i think that is the point, it is something that with any logic cannot be blamed on foreigners, but they will blame us somehow to avoid blaming themselves.

[R. S. Refugee]