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Byeon Yang-kyoon ’87MA

By the staff | 2:25pm April 04 2008

Almost unnoticed in the scandal surrounding Shin Jeong-ah—the South Korean art history professor who falsely claimed to have a Yale PhD—is the fact that her alleged lover and accomplice really does have a Yale degree. Byeon Yang-kyoon ’87MA, who was until recently a top aide to Korean president Roh Moo-hyun, received his master’s as a student in Yale’s International and Development Economics program. On March 31, a South Korean court sentenced Shin to 18 months in jail for faking credentials and embezzling funds. Byeon, 59, who was convicted of improperly using his influence to help Shin gain favor with Dongguk University, was given a one-year suspended sentence and ordered to perform community service. He has resigned his government post.

So watch out, Scooter Libby ’72 and Bill Clinton ’73JD. You’ve got competition. As Yale becomes more international in its outlook, even our roster of scandal-ridden alumni is going global.

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