Abusive SNU prof. expelled

Seoul National University’s disciplinary committee announced yesterday that it will expel Kim In-hye, the dean of the school’s department of vocal music, who has been accused of habitually abusing her students and soliciting gifts.

The university’s disciplinary committee met for eight hours yesterday to decide on what actions to take against the 50-year-old professor, who had been temporarily removed from her post. The committee reached the decision to expel Kim at 6 p.m.

Kim attended part of the hearing with her lawyer and said that she “earnestly answered all questions” posed to her by the committee.

She denied that her aggressive teaching methods constituted abuse.

Kim repeated her argument that frequently hitting her students was part of a strict apprenticeship that has long been a tradition in music education.

Kim’s case was made public after a group of Kim’s vocal music students submitted a petition stating that their professor had regularly punched them in their stomachs and backs and pulled their hair while teaching.

By Yim Seung-hye [enational@joongang.co.kr]