A university professor who forced a student to retract a confession of filing a false accusation and even fabricated evidence to have a colleague criminally punished has been sentenced to prison with probation.

According to the legal community on October 21, Judge Kim Hyun-suk of Criminal Division 5 at the Busan District Court sentenced Professor A, a faculty member at a national university in Gyeongsangnam-do indicted on charges of forging evidence and using forged evidence, to six months in prison suspended for two years.

Student B, who was indicted alongside the professor on charges of false accusation, was fined 5 million won.

Despite receiving an F grade in Professor C's class due to failing to submit assignments and missing attendance, student B filed a petition with the school claiming it was unfair.

Later, when Professor C mentioned the petition, grading issues, and complaints during a lecture, student B took it as a targeted remark and falsely accused Professor C of defamation.

However, the court determined that Professor C never directly singled out student B for receiving an F grade or showed student B's petition to other students.

Although student B subsequently confessed to the false accusation during police questioning, the situation escalated when Professor A, who had been in conflict with Professor C, intervened.

Professor A made student B recant the confession, fabricated a false transcript of statements, and submitted it as evidence to the Busan High Prosecutors' Office through student B's attorney during an appeal.

The court criticized the act, stating, "Despite the student under their guidance confessing, the gravity of the crime is very poor, as evidence was forged for the purpose of getting a fellow professor punished."

However, the court found Professor A not guilty of instigating a false accusation, noting a lack of evidence proving that Professor A was aware the allegations were false at the time the complaint was filed.

Regarding student B, the court stated that it considered mitigating factors such as the student's confession and remorse, being a first-time offender, and the victimized professor's preference not to punish.

(Photo: Yonhap News)