The Education Ministry has asked Inha University to cancel the transfer admission of Korean Air President Cho Won-tae after confirming there were irregularities in Cho's entry process 20 years ago.

The ministry, which conducted a probe into the case and the university last month, said on Wednesday that the university approved Cho's transfer from a two-year college in the U.S. in 1998, even though he failed to meet credit requirements for such a transfer.

The Incheon-based university is run by a foundation established by the Cho family's Hanjin Group. 

The 42-year-old, who is the son of Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Yang-ho, was also found to have not obtained the required 140 credits before graduating from the university in 2003.

The ministry had ruled in 1998 that there were irregularities in Cho's admission, but it did not cancel the transfer and only asked the school to take disciplinary action against those involved in the process.