The foundation board of Sookmyung Women’s University has dismissed school president Han Young-sil, who has been in the conflict with the board over the latter’s alleged “laundering” of donation money.

The decision was made at a hastily-called board meeting on Tuesday and took effect on Thursday, a local news outlet reported on Thursday.

But the school administration called the board’s decision invalid because it violated the procedural rule which calls for the board to announce the agenda of its meeting seven days beforehand according to internal school law.

“We demand the president continue her duty because the board decision lack legitimacy,” said the school administration in the statement on Thursday.

Early this week, the Education Ministry notified a foundation chairman and five auditors of their terminations for misappropriation of school donations. The ministry supervises public and private universities and conducts audits when wrongdoings are reported.

The university foundation board was accused of placing donations addressed to the school administration in its account, and then sending the money to the schools’ management as though it were the foundation’s required financial contribution to the university.

But the foundation board denied it misused the donations, saying it had to use them as it did to receive good marks on the government’s university evaluation, which requires the school foundation board to offer a financial contribution for school management.

They have also claimed that the university administration raised such a long-time practice to hold the board members responsible and get rid of them.

By Lee Woo-young  (wylee@heraldcorp.com)