Kim’s 1999 thesis accused of plagiarism in 2021, confirmed in February this year
Students and professors at Sookmyung Women’s University on Thursday called on the school to take action by revoking the master’s degree of Kim Keon Hee, wife of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, after her thesis was found to have been plagiarized.
“It’s been more than three months since Kim’s thesis was confirmed to be plagiarized, but the university still hasn’t revoked her degree or taken any action, and we haven’t been told why it’s taking so long,” said Hwang Da-kyung from Seolhwa, a student group at the university, during a press conference held in central Seoul with the Democratic Alumnae Association.
“There is nothing to learn from a university that no longer upholds the values of fairness and integrity."
Kim earned her master’s degree in art education from Sookmyung Women’s University in 1999. Allegations of plagiarism in her thesis emerged in late 2021 amid growing public scrutiny of her academic background, shortly after Yoon became a leading presidential candidate.
In early 2022, an accusation filed by the alumnae group prompted the university's research ethics committee to begin reviewing Kim’s thesis, but a full investigation didn’t begin until December, raising criticism about delays. Finally this January, the university determined that she had plagiarized her work.
Shin Dong-soon, a professor of Chinese language and literature at the university who attended the press conference, said, “It took far too long for the university to officially confirm plagiarism in Kim’s thesis, even though the similarity rate exceeded 50 percent.”
“I urge President Moon to proceed with fairness and without partiality, no matter who the subject of the investigation is.”
According to Article 65 of the university's academic regulations, a degree obtained through dishonest means may be revoked following deliberation.
Meanwhile, another thesis Kim wrote in 2008 while studying at Kookmin University’s Graduate School of Techno Design, where she earned a doctorate in design, has also come under scrutiny for alleged plagiarism.
The university, however, concluded that the level of plagiarism in Kim’s doctoral thesis and related papers did not constitute research misconduct that “seriously exceeds what is generally considered acceptable in academia.”
Possibilities have emerged that if Kim’s master’s degree from Sookmyung is officially revoked, her doctoral degree from Kookmin University could also be subject to cancellation. Under the Korea’s Higher Education Act, a master’s degree is a prerequisite for admission to a doctorate program.
cjh@heraldcorp.com
