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Open Letter to Yonsei Uni: Why an Honoris Causa to Ivan Duque?

"The thruth will make you free" - Yonsei University



cc. to International Affairs Team: ipartners@yonsei.ac.kr

In this entry, I want to make an open letter to Yonei University, to highly and hardly criticize their decision to give an Honoris Causa Ph.D. to Ivan Duque, current president of Colombia.

The reason why I think this is a wrong move from such prestigious University is because of the very low academic background of the candidate, and the highly questioned and contribution to the Colombian Economy. This candidate does not have ANY novel Theory of Economics whatsoever (https://scholar.google.es/citations?user=RqZvxzUAAAAJ&hl=es). The infamous "Economia Naranja" is just a bad wording to refer to the same classic Liberal Economics. The highest cited of his works looks more like a company brochure than a book!

Do the members of this University think that this is a major achievement in the history of Economics? I hardly believe so. Yonei University explains the given honour on "his contribution to the Economy" without a clear, factual claim. 

"As a Doctor of Computer Science, I feel highly disrespected on knowing that a University is raffling off Ph.D. degrees like they were candy. A Doctorate is the highest degree of knowledge, which should only be achieved by those who strive for more than 4 years to achieve it to produce a THESIS, something NEW."

Please review your standards to raise a Ph.D. As a member of the Academic community, I would like to raise awareness to the International Community that a Ph.D. is a title you need to ear with clear, factual, major and novel claims.

The thruth is that this person is highly questioned on the way he became president, as there are factual claims of his friendhip with drug lords and paramilitaries in Colombia (https://colombiareports.com/wiretapping-of-drug-trafficker-reveals-vote-buying-for-duque-on-uribes-orders/ and in https://www.lanuevaprensa.com.co/uribe-el-asesino-que-nos-puso-la-mafia-2/interceptions-to-drug-trafficker-nene-hernandez-expose-vote-buying-for-duque-by-order-of-uribe).

If the academic members of Yonsei University think this factual claims are relevant for gaining a Ph.D. in Honoris Causa, then I think we are getting into a very dangerous path as Academic community.

I am sharing to you this petition. I hope you reconsider for the good of Colombia, the real Academic Community and for the "finding of the truth".

Change.org link to sign the Petition: Award Rejection with the Honoris Causa Doctorate in Economics to Ivan Duque Marquez.

Sincerely,

John Calvo Martinez, M.Sc. Ph.D. 


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