More than a hundred Chinese students have been accused of using fake academic credentials to enroll in universities in South Korea. The school authorities have ordered them to suspend their studies, and if these students enter Korea in the future, they will be forcibly deported.
According to a report by the Chosun Ilbo on the 3rd, the South Korean Ministry of Justice’s Immigration Office conducted a raid and search on the main campus of Hunan University and the International Exchange Office in January.
According to the immigration office investigation, 112 Chinese students studying at this 4-year private university in Gwangju, South Korea, were accused of submitting false academic credentials for enrollment, and an investigation is currently underway.
The report stated that in March 2025, these students entered Korea with qualifications as high school graduate language study students. In August of the same year, they submitted American university degree certificates to enroll in Hunan University, switched to student visas, and could stay in Korea until they completed their studies.
However, the immigration office found that the American universities from which these students claimed to have obtained degrees had their accreditation revoked in the mid to late 2000s.
Most of these students had returned to China by December 2025. For the remaining 5 students still in Korea, authorities have taken measures to forcibly deport them.
According to various South Korean media reports, the 117 Chinese students with only high school diplomas first came to Korea in March last year on short-term language study visas with lower thresholds, to study Korean at the affiliate college of Hunan University. In August, they suddenly submitted “American university Bachelor’s degree” certificates to the immigration department and successfully switched to long-term student visas, directly entering the master’s program at Hunan University. They reportedly aimed to take advantage of the university’s special “accelerated program” for international students to obtain a master’s degree by July this year.
Hunan University stated, “We were completely unaware of these students submitting fake academic credentials,” and informed the students in China that the school had implemented a suspension policy for all of them, and once they re-enter Korea, they will be subject to mandatory deportation.
How was this case of Chinese students falsifying their academic records discovered? According to Pulse HK, the South Korean Ministry of Justice noticed during visa reviews that over a hundred students reported graduating from the same American university at the same time, raising suspicions, leading to an investigation.
Authorities ultimately found that these students had no records of entering the U.S. during the period they claimed to have been studying there; the American universities they claimed to attend had ceased operations in the mid-2000s; and the “Apostille” international notarization documents they submitted had no records in the system, leading authorities to conclude that the documents were all forged.
During the winter break, the Ministry of Justice’s Busan Immigration Management Office sent personnel to conduct a sudden search at Hunan University’s main campus and international exchange office. Upon the news, the 112 implicated students immediately fled back to China.
The Ministry of Justice revoked their visas and banned them from entering indefinitely. Authorities also discovered 5 more Chinese students involved in the case and forcibly repatriated them, with one of them deciding to appeal.
The Ministry of Justice criticized universities as the frontline admission institutions for international students for not verifying documents responsibly. The school, however, claimed to be innocent, stating that they were also victims and that they could not verify each degree certificate individually.
On further investigation, Hunan University, the privately-owned university in the local area, has actively operated in the Chinese market over the years. The university established the first Confucius Institute in Korea. According to the university’s website, “Our Confucius Institute was founded on December 19, 2006, approved and funded by Hanban of the Chinese Ministry of Education, jointly operated by Hunan University in Korea and Hunan University in China, the first Confucius Institute initiated by a South Korean university.” In 2015, the university also established the “China Friendship Center” and has set up offices in multiple provinces and cities in China since 2016 to promote enrollment.
In 2022, a Chinese student was expelled from the university for displaying the flag of the Republic of China during a national holiday event and using a Communist party flag to polish shoes. The pro-Communist remarks in the school’s announcement sparked criticism in South Korea.
(Extended report)