Institutional Capture: How the 'Epstein Model' Explains Korean University Fraud

Professor Pak Noja (Vladimir Tikhonov) of Oslo University recently published a searing analysis in The Hankyoreh titled "The Epstein Model: US Ruled by Predators" (The Hankyoreh: https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/english_editorials/1244571.html), describing how elite institutions are "captured" by predatory interests, rendering them incapable of serving the public good or ensuring safety.

At Gender Watchdog, we see this "Institutional Capture" as the exact mechanism driving the crisis at Dongguk University.

The "Epstein Model" in Korean Academia

Prof. Pak argues that institutions—media, academia, justice—have become tools for the powerful to protect their own, creating a "solidarity of predators." In the context of Korean universities, this manifests as:

  1. The Ranking Obsession as Camouflage: Universities like Dongguk prioritize global rankings above student safety. To maintain this façade, they engage in "Semantic Fraud"—listing prestigious partners like the University of Manitoba, York University, and UBC without valid agreements.
    • Fact: 2 out of 5 (40%) of Dongguk's claimed Canadian partnerships were proven false.
    • The Capture: The "International Relations" office serves the ranking agencies, not the students or the truth.

    Broader Systemic Evidence: This is not limited to Dongguk. Our preliminary Korea-wide audit reveals a sector-wide collapse of integrity:

    • Keimyung University: Multiple discrepancies.
    • Pusan National University (PNU): Listed Harvard University as a partner (unverified).
    • Seoul National University (SNU): Discrepancies found with Ritsumeikan University (Japan).
    • System-Wide: A preliminary tally suggests falsification is a systemic "addiction" driven by the ranking economy.

  2. The "Panic Scrub" as Protection: When caught, a healthy institution investigates. A captured institution destroys evidence. Dongguk's silent deletion of the falsified partner records (the "Panic Scrub") is the digital equivalent of shredding documents. It is an admission that the institution's primary goal is self-preservation, not accountability.

  3. The Silence on Violence: This institutional capture explains why a 61.5% sexual violence rate (KWDI 2020) in arts programs is met with silence. The "mechanisms of justice" (Title IX offices, Human Rights Centers) are captured by the university administration, designed to protect the university's reputation rather than the victims.

Breaking the Capture

We are adopting Prof. Pak's framework in our legal outreach. When we contact legal clinics at the University of Toronto, Oxford, or the University of Hong Kong, we are not just reporting "fraud." We are reporting Institutional Capture.

We are asking these global legal bodies to recognize that their "partner" is not a university in the traditional sense, but a captured entity operating on the "Epstein Model"—trading on false prestige while facilitating predation.

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