In 2008, the university sued Yale University for 50 million dollars for a national scandal involved with then-assistant professor Shin Jeong-ah, which was called "Shingate". In July, 2007, when Dongguk university sent a registered letter to Yale University in order to check whether her doctorate degree is fake, Yale sent a reply that her degree is a forgery and she was never enrolled in Yale. Dongguk University asserted that when the university was hiring Shin Jeong-ah as an assistant professor of Graduate School of Culture & Arts on September, 2005, the university had received an answer from Yale that her doctorate degree is authentic. On July, 2007, Yale contended that the Dongguk University's claim is not true and Yale had not received any official letters from Dongguk University, but later it was revealed that Yale had received the registered letter from Dongguk University. On December 27, Dongguk University held a press conference and announced that Yale had admitted that Yale confirmed the authenticity of her degree and expressed regret about the case. On February 1, 2008, Yale forwarded an official letter of apology to Dongguk University under the name of Rick Levin, then-president of Yale. Dongguk University claimed that actions of Yale had damaged the university's reputation and sued Yale for 50 million dollars. Dongguk University said that it lost millions in contributions and the opportunity to build a new law school, but the lawsuit was finally concluded with Yale's innocence over the scandal. After the lawsuit, Yale sued Dongguk University for the cost of litigation, and on December 2, 2014, the Seoul Central District Court ordered Dongguk University to pay for 297 thousand dollars.