Monday, January 12, 2009

CBS is reporting that a foreigner who had his teaching credentials stripped in the United States for child molestation has been working openly as a professor in Korea for the last decade.

Naturally, this is leading some to question Immigration’s handling of foreigners and the hiring process of foreign professors.

Prof. A, who is teaching at a university in Daejeon, was convicted in 1996 of molesting girls under the age of 14 while employed as a middle school teacher in California. In 1997, he was imprisoned for six weeks on charges of paying female students so that he could feel their legs and hands while in his office.

CBS quotes Prof. A as claiming that while he was indeed convicted of child molestation, this record was erased in 2002 after a court judged the crime to be minor.

Prof. A said, however, that it was true the crime remains on his FBI record.

Because of the incident, he was reportedly kicked out of the school and had his teaching credentials stripped.

So in 1999, he came to Korea, where he has worked as professor and instructor at public and private universities. Since 2001, he has taught English conversation at four universities.

These days during the vacation period, he runs a conversation class for children at the college.

Prof. A apparently faced no restrictions when getting employed as a professor. Why, you might ask? Well, according to CBS, current law states that while native speaker instructors (E2 visas) need to submit criminal background checks, professors (E-1 visas) have no separate requirement.

In fact, when the Justice Ministry made it mandatory for E-2 visa holders to submit criminal background checks, he switched to E-1 visa during the grace period.

Now this you’ll love — despite the Daejeon Immigration Office belatedly discovered that Prof. A was charged with child molestation, it’s not taking any measures against him.

While Prof. A is saying he’s caused no trouble in the decade he’s been here and vowing to put up a legal struggle if Immigration tries to deport him, Immigration simply said it has nothing to say at the moment.

CBS said due to a porous legal net and Immigration’s failure to properly manage the foreigns, a foreigner inviting controversy concerning sexual abuse is openly standing in the classroom...

MORE TO FOLLOW AS SOON AS I GET THE INFO.............




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