[Sportschosun reporter Jang Jong-ho] Professors at a national university in Taiwan have gone on trial after being accused of taking money to help students obtain degrees by arranging thesis ghostwriting.
According to Taiwanese media outlets including ETtoday, Professors Wang and Tang at the National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology were found guilty of arranging ghostwriting for students' master's and doctoral theses and of providing favors during oral defense proceedings.
In effect, they sold degrees for money.
According to the prosecution's investigation, the two professors committed the scheme while advising graduate students on campus. They offered to help write the theses, then recruited professors they knew as oral defense committee members to help the students pass the review.
Investigators found that between 2019 and 2024, students paid about NT$320,000, or roughly 15 million won, for doctoral programs and about NT$100,000, or roughly 5 million won, for master's programs. The professors then connected them with a Vietnamese national as a ghostwriter, had the theses written on their behalf, and effectively guaranteed that they would pass the review.
The case came to light after prosecutors investigating Taiwanese business figure Xu Xiaodong on suspicion of breach of trust found related evidence on mobile phones seized during a raid.
The court noted that they had "undermined the status of national university professors and severely damaged the dignity of academia." It sentenced Professor Wang to seven years in prison and Professor Tang to five years and two months on charges of bribery in connection with their duties.
The students were also found guilty of bribery and each received prison terms of six to seven months, suspended. An appeal is still pending.
The university suspended Professor Wang for two years starting in March, and further disciplinary action will be discussed depending on whether the conviction is finalized.
Professor Tang had already been dismissed over separate sexual offense allegations. Prosecutors said he was also indicted on charges of raping and molesting a female doctoral student under his supervision.
In addition, the university's dissertation review committee concluded, based on its investigation, that six students' theses had been written by others. It revoked both their graduation eligibility and their degrees.
Jang Jong-ho, bellho@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
