Kookmin University 'Kim Geon-hee Thesis' Main Investigation Fails... Ministry of Education "Reviewing Whether Appropriate Action Taken"

Kookmin University States "Verification Period Expired, Main Investigation Not Possible," Ministry of Education Responds

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The Ministry of Education announced that it will review whether the investigation conducted by Kookmin University into allegations of academic misconduct in the doctoral dissertation of Kim Gun-hee, wife of former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, was appropriate.

On the 13th, a Ministry of Education official stated at a regular briefing, "We will review whether the preliminary investigation decision by Kookmin University's Doctoral Research Ethics Committee was handled in accordance with the research ethics guidelines."

Regarding whether the investigation results could change following the Ministry's review, the official added, "We will examine whether the handling was appropriate and in line with the guidelines and make a judgment. Any subsequent actions will be determined after the review process."

On the 10th, Kookmin University's Research Ethics Committee announced regarding the allegations of academic misconduct in Kim's doctoral dissertation, "According to the regulation that reports received after five full years from August 31, 2012, regarding research misconduct will not be processed, this case is beyond the verification period, and the committee has no authority to investigate further, so no formal investigation will be conducted."

Kookmin University conducted a preliminary investigation in July after suspicions of research misconduct arose concerning Kim's dissertation. Kim received her doctoral degree in 2008 from Kookmin University's Graduate School of Techno Design with the dissertation titled 'A Study on the Development of Fortune-telling Content Using Avatars: Focusing on the Development and Market Application of "Anita".' The committee also reviewed three other papers published in external academic journals during her enrollment but judged that additional investigation was impossible due to the expiration of the verification period.

Kim became controversial for her academic paper published in 2007 in the 'Korea Design Forum' titled 'A Study on User Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction of Online Fortune-telling Content and Its Effects on Membership Retention and Withdrawal,' where the Korean phrase '회원 유지' (membership retention) was translated into English as 'member Yuji.'

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