Shin is accused of presenting fake credentials to Dongguk University and the Gwangju Biennale, Korea’s leading contemporary art exhibition, to get her jobs there. The Seoul Western Prosecutors’ Office pressed a corruption charge for the ex-presidential secretary, who is suspected of abusing his power to promote her career. The two were placed in the Youngdeungpo Detention Center on Thursday night.

Ex-presidential secretary Byeon Yang-kyoon (left) and disgraced curator Shin Jeong-ah are moved from the Seoul Western Prosecutors' office to a detention center after their arrest warrants were issued on Thursday.

The court rejected an earlier application for an arrest warrant for Shin three weeks ago. The arrest of the two is expected to speed up investigations of suspicions that influential political and government figures attempted to hush up the forged degree scandal. The court granted the warrants, saying the two could destroy evidence as shown in the ex-curator’s attempt to delete e-mails she exchanged with Byeon. It also said case is so important and grave that there was a flight risk after all.

The judge, identified as Chang, said Shin and Byeon “are likely to destroy evidence since they exchanged numerous calls with cell phones registered under the name of other people between a year ago and September but were cagey about whether they maintained communication.”

Byeon and Shin are also accused of promising Dongguk University support from state coffers in return for employing Shin as an assistant professor. The former presidential secretary for national policy is also accused of pressuring corporations to contribute money to the Sungkok Art Museum when Shin was chief curator there and easing regulations for the companies in return.

(englishnews@chosun.com )