The Ministry of Science and ICT placed a former professor, who left a university in the past over allegations of sexually harassing a former student, on the list for a government commendation but decided to cancel the award after controversy arose.
According to the Ministry of Science and ICT on the 22nd, procedures are underway to cancel the commendation for a person identified as A, who had been scheduled to receive the Order of Industrial Service Merit in connection with Science and ICT Day.
The Order of Industrial Service Merit is a government honor that ranks second after an order of merit. It was also reported that A's name was excluded from the list of recipients of the government commendations for "outstanding contributions to information and communications and information culture" published in the official gazette that day.
A is a person who submitted a letter of resignation to the school after allegations emerged in 2011 that A had sexually harassed a student while serving as a professor at B University. During an investigation by the graduate student council at the time, there were also claims indicating there had been inappropriate physical contact.
Government commendations allow restrictions on nominations for individuals who have caused public controversy. Because of this, questions were raised about whether the competent ministry conducted sufficient vetting before A was included as a commendation candidate.