Expansion of Targeted Tasks for Improper Solicitation Including Thesis Review, Degree Conferment, and Scholarship Selection

The 15th Social Relations Ministers' Meeting and 5th Human Investment and Talent Development Council Held
Discussion on Promoting Revision of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act and Support Measures for Digital Higher Education
Expansion of Support Scale for Integrated Cultural Voucher Worth 100,000 Won

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[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] The selection of apprentices and scholarship students, thesis review, degree conferral, recognition of research conditions, and correction and rehabilitation duties of correctional officers will be added as prohibited duties under the Act on the Prohibition of Improper Solicitation and Graft (Improper Solicitation and Graft Act).

The Ministry of Education announced on the 9th that it held the 15th Social Relations Ministers' Meeting with related agencies at the Government Complex Sejong to discuss ▲ the promotion of amendments to the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act ▲ support measures for digital-based higher education innovation ▲ support measures for non-face-to-face arts in daily life amid COVID-19.

◆Introduction of an anonymous proxy reporting system= First, the government discussed amendments to the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act to improve fairness in education, research, and correctional work. This is to supplement the law, which has been in effect since September 28, 2016, by adding the selection of apprentices and scholarship students, degree conferral, and correction and rehabilitation duties of correctional officers to the prohibited duties under Article 5 of the current law.

The reason for discussing such amendments is that issues requiring sanctions for improper solicitation have occurred, such as professors requesting internships for their children through acquaintances who are professors at other universities or improperly conferring degrees despite attendance problems of children of professors belonging to the same school.

Along with this, to guarantee anonymity for those who discover violations, a bill introducing an anonymous proxy reporting system and imposing enforcement fines if protection measures under the Act on the Protection of Public Interest Whistleblowers are not implemented will be newly established. The government plans to collect public opinions on the amendment bill centered on the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission.

◆Universities to conduct lecture evaluations twice per semester= In addition, online classes for domestic university master's degree programs and joint online bachelor's and master's degree programs between domestic and foreign universities will be permitted. The government plans to further expand cooperation-based projects among local governments, universities, and regional innovation institutions and nurture 100,000 talents by 2026 through the New Technology Innovation Sharing University support project.

Universities will support faculty capacity building and online content production through remote education support centers, and conduct lecture evaluations at least twice per semester through the 'Remote Class Management Committee,' which includes faculty, staff, experts, and students.

Furthermore, due to the prolonged COVID-19 situation causing cultural facilities to remain closed, support measures for non-face-to-face arts have been prepared.

More than 2,700 artists across 17 cities and provinces nationwide will be supported to engage in artistic activities in an online environment, and efforts will be made to integrate technologies such as big data, 5G, and AI. National performance venues and national arts organizations will showcase online performance models and support the production of online performances by private performance groups.

For the underprivileged, the scale of support for the Integrated Cultural Voucher (100,000 KRW) will be expanded from 1.61 million people this year to 1.77 million people next year, and a non-face-to-face automatic recharge function will be introduced.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.