Presidential Aide Involved in Academic Forgery Scandal?

The prosecution said yesterday it is investigating the allegations that a presidential aide attempted to cover up a scandal involving Shin Jeong-A, a professor who was fired after she was found to have forged her academic credentials. An official of the prosecution said, “We received tips that the Buddhist monk Jangyoon, who was a former director of Dongguk University when questions over the authenticity of Professor Shin’s degree were first raised, knows the official well. With regard to this information, we asked him several times to appear before the prosecution beginning last month, but we have received no response from him yet.”

“If the Buddigist monk Jangyoon responds to the summons, we will be able to confirm whether Byeon Yang-kyoon (58), director general for policy planning at Cheong Wa Dae pressured him to keep quiet about his doubts regarding Shin’s Yale doctorate, as was reported by the local news media,” he added.

Some news agencies reported yesterday, “Right after monk Jangyoon raised suspicions over Shin’s forged academic degree last month, Byeon met the monk twice to keep mum over his doubts, promising him that if he does not make a fuss over it, he would help Jangyoon get appointed as a member of the university’s board of directors.”

The monk was sacked as member of the school’s board of directors on May 29 after he expressed doubt at a meeting of directors last February concerning Shin’s academic background. Accordingly, he filed a suit against the university’s decision, refusing to accept the result. The court ruled that the board of directors’ decision was invalid and decided in favor of Jangyoon, saying, “The school’s decision was significantly defective.” The monk recently returned to Korea from overseas on July 23, but he refuses to meet with anyone. An official of the Buddhist temple where the monk Jangyoon serves as the chief priest said he has been there for the past few days.

Chun Ho-seon, a Cheong Wa Dae spokesman, said on Friday, “Byeon denies the allegations that he knows Shin personally, and said it is not true that he met the monk to persuade him not to disclose Shin`s fake diplomas.``

“Byeon met the Buddhist monk Jangyoon for the first time through an acquaintance in last May. When he met him again in July, Byeon just asked him not to exaggerate the matter by raising various issues the university was struggling with. He didn’t bring up the issue of Shin’s fake documents and Jangyoon also didn’t take issue about Shin.” Cheon said.

Meanwhile, Oh Young-kyo, president of Dongguk University, said at a board meeting of to the school yesterday, “Although some say I asked Byeon to do so (regarding the presidential aide’s alleged meeting with the monk Jangyoon to pressure him), that’s not true.” However, he also added, “Someone must take responsibility. A person must come forward to admit his or her mistake,” raising the suspicion that someone may have asked Byeon to press Jangyoon on the issue. President Oh and presidential aide Byeon worked for the participatory government, serving as the Minister of Government Administration and Home Affairs and the Minister of Planning and Budget, respectively, in 2005.

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