Professor investigated for verbal abuse, exploiting students

A professor at Korea National University of Cultural Heritage is under fire for making malicious comments to students and abusing power.

Korea National University of Cultural Heritage students cleaned the office of the professor without getting paid on Aug. 5, 2019. [JOONGANG ILBO]

A professor at Korea National University of Cultural Heritage is under fire for making malicious comments to students and abusing power.

The professor at the four-year university, established by the Cultural Heritage Administration, is being inspected by the state-run agency starting Monday based on petitions filed by the students and alums of the school.

The professor was caught in a voice recording saying, “Women are no use when they are pregnant. Those who are graduate students, make sure to assign orders to each of your pregnancies,” according to recording files acquired by the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily.

The recording includes various other comments by the professor toward students.

To a student who decided to take some time off college, the professor said, “How could you come to an exhibition with your boyfriend? [Your] social network is entirely within my reach. I will make you suffer badly [with my powers].”

A student told the JoongAng Ilbo that she felt “sexually humiliated and insulted” when the professor called out the student for being overweight and asked the rest of the class to agree.

The students asked to remain anonymous.

In April, the professor savaged students for giving his class negative ratings in the annual course review.

“Shut your eyes and raise your hands. Don't you dare sneak around from my back like this,” the professor said. “You will suffer direct consequences. I'll show you what I can do as a professor.”

Meanwhile, the professor has also been accused of gapjil, or abuse of power, against students.

From 2019 until this year, the professor called around 10 students to his home and ordered them to clean the house, including the garden, shelves and office space.

One of the students who had cleaned the house said, “We have not been paid for the job, but as news leaked that students are preparing to file a petition, I heard the professor paid money to some students.”

Another student recalled a memory from the past.

“Nearing the submission deadline of graduation papers, the professor used to imply that the students 'had better pay professors.' Some students actually prepared gifts.”

Multiple students shared their discomfort and experiences, recalling why standing up to that professor was hard.

“It's a small department with only about 40 students, and the traditional culture world is small, so those who speak up will likely suffer in their careers,” said the student who had cleaned for the professor without getting paid.

Students also claimed students who disobeyed the professor's orders were prevented from joining field excursions or suffered other penalties.

Screenshots acquired by JoongAng Ilbo highlight that the professor may have collected money from the students to buy class supplies that should have been covered by the school's budget instead. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Apart from verbal insults and power abuse, the Cultural Heritage Administration will also examine whether the professor collected fees from students to buy class supplies that the university’s budget should have covered and whether the professor frequently skipped or was late to classes based on accusations in the petition.

The JoongAng Ilbo contacted the professor for an explanation through multiple phone calls and text messages, but no reply had been received as of press time Monday.

BY LEE CHAN-KYU, KIM DONG-EUN [kim.dongeun@joongang.co.kr]