South Korea’s Education Ministry on Monday called on universities to revise their regulations so they can prevent professors accused of sex crimes from avoiding investigation or penalties by simply tendering a resignation.

The ministry’s guideline came after public criticism mounted against the schools which had accepted resignations from the professors who were accused of sexual molestation.

It marks the first time the ministry urged colleges to revise the regulations in order to scrutinize and punish the sex offenders at universities.

The ministry had vowed in September to take stern measures against those convicted of sex-related crimes on campus, with stronger penalties including barring perpetrators from lecturing.

Last month, a professor at the state-run Seoul National University was accused of molesting some 20 female students, but avoided penalties from school as he turned in his resignation.

In another case of sexual abuse at Choong-Ang University, a professor accused of sexually harassing a female student several times was allowed to continue teaching until the end of the semester.

In response to a flurry of criticism, Choong-Ang said the decision was made as it was hard to find a replacement.

Rep. Joo Ho-young of the ruling Saenuri Party said the related laws should be revised so that both public and private colleges can turn down the resignation of their professors facing accusations of sex crimes.

By Kim Da-sol
Intern reporter
(dasolkim@heraldcorp.com)