South Korean Art Professor Found Guilty of Faking U.S. Degrees

SEOUL—A South Korean university art professor has been sentenced to 18 months in jail for forging degrees from the University of Kansas and Yale University in order to secure a job at Seoul's Dongguk University, Agence France-Presse reports. Shin Jeong-Ah also used the fake credentials to obtain her co-directorship of Korea's largest contemporary art exhibition, Gwangju Biennale, which she has quit along with her teaching post.

The case has set off a wave of concern in Korea about forged academic records. Prosecutors have already indicted 215 people for using fake documents or diplomas to secure better jobs. Dongguk also announced that it is suing Yale in U.S. court for $50 million for wrongly confirming that Shin Jeong-Ah had a Yale doctorate. Yale has reportedly said it will contest the suit.