Professors and employees at several state-run national universities allegedly misappropriated nearly ten billion won of students' tuition fees.

According to an inquiry led by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission on Tuesday, a total of nine-point-four billion won was misused at ten national universities last year.

The funds were intended to cover student guidance programs such as counseling and safety activities carried out by professors and staff during lunch hours, after work or on weekends.

In one case, employees at a national university overstated the number of such activities by changing locations and clothes, earning one-point-two billion won.

Another university paid 130-thousand won for every text message professors sent to students to check on their health amid the COVID-19 pandemic, while another paid five million won each to 157 professors for responding to online questions posted by students.

The commission requested that the Education Ministry conduct an audit of all national universities and filed for a criminal investigation into three that refused to submit documents.