Man sentenced to Jail for involvement in Admission Manipulation

Choi Soon - sil , the friend of South Korea ’ s former president Park Geun -hye who was impeached in March , was last week sentenced to three years in prison for soliciting university favours for her daughter .
The Seoul Central District Court on Friday found Choi guilty of ‘ obstruction of duty’ by exerting influence on Ewha Womans University to give undue favours to her 21 - year - old daughter, Chung Yoo -ra , using her ties with the former president , South Korea ’ s news agency Yonhap reported .
The court said Choi ignored the law and procedures for her daughter’ s university admission , and took it for granted that others should help her achieve this purpose . She committed “ so many illegal activities” while pressuring Ewha Womans University to grant admission and then give her daughter good grades despite a poor attendance record at Ewha .
The prosecution in May demanded a seven - year jail term , but this is just the first of a number of corruption charges against Choi that is being heard in the courts .
Choi pleaded not guilty to the indictment , arguing that she never asked for special treatment for her daughter.
Chung’ s university place and her high school diploma have already been revoked , following an official investigation which found that her high school attendance and test grades had been forged .
The Seoul court also sentenced Choi Kyung- hee , the former president of the university who was forced to resign last October over the scandal, and Namkung Gon , the university’ s former head of admissions , who were both found to have complied with Choi Soon - sil ’ s requests to admit her daughter. They were sentenced to two years and 18 months in prison, respectively , on the same charges as Choi Soon - sil .
The court said evidence proved “ top -down collusion ” between Choi Soon -sil , South Korea ’ s former vice- minister for culture Kim Chong, and former Ewha Womans University president Choi Kyung- hee , which led to an “ unfair instruction ” to admit Choi Soon - sil ’ s daughter Chung Yoo - ra .
Chung, an equestrian , was admitted by the university based on her sporting achievements, but a government investigation found that the university had changed its rules on sports to benefit Chung.