Hong Yong-pyo, the nominee to become South Korea's point man on North Korea, offered a public apology Tuesday for the controversial re-use of some content from his own academic paper.
  

Hong published a 92-page research paper in 2010, titled "The Evolution of Syngman Rhee's Anti-Communist Policy and the Cold War in the Korean Peninsula," when he was a professor at Hanyang University in Seoul.
  

Most of its content was copied from his 1995 thesis for a doctorate, with the title of State Security and Regime Security: The Security Policy of South Korea Under the Syngman Rhee Government.
  

He did not cite in the 2010 paper that it was used previously.
  

Shortly after a related news report, Hong issued a statement admitting that some parts of the paper were duplicated.
  

"As the nominee for unification minister, I would like to apologize," he said.
  

Last week, President Park Geun-hye chose Hong, currently serving as presidential secretary for unification affairs, to replace Ryoo Kihl-jae as head of the ministry specializing in North Korea affairs.
  

Hong should go through a confirmation hearing at the National Assembly, which is expected to be held in March.
  

He is certain to face a number of tough questions about the apparent self-plagiarism.
  

Hong is known as a key player in crafting the Park administration's so-called Korean Peninsula Trust-Building Process aimed at laying the groundwork for reunification. (Yonhap)