Lawsuit Accuses Yale Of False Statements

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) -- A prestigious South Korean university that came under fire for hiring a professor who lied about her credentials is suing Yale, saying the American university wrongly confirmed the woman earned a degree.

Dongguk University is seeking at least $50 million in damages, saying Yale's actions "severely tarnished" its stellar reputation, sparked a criminal probe, cost employees their jobs and led to a decline in donations, government grants and student applications.

Yale called the error an administrative mistake and said the lawsuit was without merit.

In 2005, Yale mistakenly confirmed that it had awarded an art history doctorate to Shin Jeong-ah. The lawsuit contends Yale initially claimed its confirmation of the degree was a forgery and denied that it had received an inquiry from Dongguk.

"Dongguk University was publicly humiliated and deeply shamed in the eyes of the Korean population," the lawsuit says.

In December, Yale expressed regrets and called the matter an administrative error.

"Yale regrets that Dongguk University has filed suit against a fellow institution of higher learning regarding the fraudulent actions of Shin Jeong-ah, who was hired before an inquiry about her credentials was made to Yale," Yale said in a statement Wednesday.

Dongguk, a Buddhist-affiliated university, says its hired Shin as an assistant professor in September 2005. After questions were raised about her Yale degree, Dongguk sent a registered letter seeking to confirm it, the lawsuit says.

An associate dean at Yale confirmed the degree in a Sept. 22 fax, according to the lawsuit.

Shin, once described as the "art world's Cinderella," began teaching at Dongguk, which says it received documents last year suggesting she had not written her dissertation. When a Dongguk official asked Yale for a copy, Yale responded that it had no such record, the lawsuit says.

On June 11, 2007, Yale told Dongguk that Shin did not receive a doctorate there.

Yale officials then said the confirmation of the degree sent in 2005 was "not authentic" and a forgery, the lawsuit says. Yale also told Korean media that it had not received the registered letter in 2005 asking whether Shin had received a doctorate from Yale, according to the lawsuit.

Amid numerous articles about Dongguk's supposed failure to verify Shin's credentials, Dongguk's president apologized and the university's board vowed to discipline faculty. A group of monks called for the dismissal of the board and prosecutors began a criminal investigation.

Last August, Dongguk sent Yale an e-mail saying it had located the U.S. Postal Services tracking record that showed its 2005 registered letter was signed by a Yale staff member.

"Rather than correct its false statements and admit the truth," the lawsuit says, Yale officials issued a statement last fall contending all documents supporting Shin's claim were forgeries.