Kang Min-jung on Kookmin University's 'Inability to Investigate Kim Geon-hee's Thesis': "Trying to Protect a Powerful Political Figure... Ministry of Education Must Intervene"

Kookmin University States Full Investigation Cannot Be Conducted on Kim Gun-hee's Thesis Due to Verification Period Expiry

Kim Keon-hee, spouse of former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] Kang Min-jung, floor leader of the Open Democratic Party, who raised suspicions about the doctoral dissertation of Kim Gun-hee, spouse of Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential primary candidate and former Prosecutor General, criticized Kookmin University for stating that it could not conduct a full investigation due to the expiration of the verification period, calling it "a decision that prioritized protecting a powerful political figure."

On the 13th, Kang appeared on TBS Radio's 'Shin Jang-sik's Shin Jang Open' and said, "Members of Kookmin University and the public had certain trust and expectations, but this was destroyed overnight."

Kang said, "Kookmin University initially stated that it would investigate all four of Kim Gun-hee's papers," adding, "Now, based on a single line in the internal regulations' supplementary provisions, they have concluded not to investigate, which is absurd."

Furthermore, Kang evaluated that it is difficult to consider Kim's thesis as a doctoral dissertation, saying, "Plagiarism is an issue, but the paper itself is substandard," and added, "It was a comprehensive mess of a thesis that seemed to develop fortune-telling using avatars, but the process described was already patented."

Regarding Kookmin University's statement that a full investigation could not be conducted due to the expiration of the verification period, Kang explained, "Kookmin University revised its own research ethics regulations in 2012 to include that 'there is basically no statute of limitations,'" and continued, "(However) they added a proviso in the supplementary provisions, effectively twisting the principle stated in the main clause to create a loophole allowing them to avoid the investigation."

Kang viewed Kookmin University’s conclusion that the investigation was impossible as using this 'loophole' in the supplementary proviso.

He emphasized, "Since supplementary provisions are subordinate clauses, they must not violate higher laws," and added, "Because this is essentially against the intent of the directive and the law, the Ministry of Education should look into this process."

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education has stated that it will review whether Kookmin University's decision not to investigate Kim's thesis was handled appropriately. A Ministry of Education official said at an online briefing with the press corps on the 13th, "We will review whether (Kookmin University's judgment) was handled appropriately according to the research ethics guidelines and then make a decision," adding, "Any subsequent measures will be determined after the review process."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.