Kookmin University Faculty Association Enters Final Vote on Whether to Express Opinion on Kim Geon-hee's Thesis

Final runoff voting scheduled until 6 PM on the 13th

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] Regarding the allegations surrounding the doctoral dissertation of Kim Gun-hee, wife of Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential primary candidate, the faculty council of Kookmin University has decided to determine whether to express an opinion through a runoff vote.

According to the faculty council on the 9th, in the general faculty vote that closed at 6 p.m. the previous day, the proposal for a "proactive response" urging an investigation into the thesis received 38.4% (114 votes), while the "non-response" option received 36.9% (109 votes), showing a close result. This was followed by "passive response" at 19.3% (57 votes) and others at 5.1% (15 votes).

The vote was conducted over three days. Out of 412 total faculty members, 295 participated, resulting in a turnout rate of 71.6%.

The faculty council stated, "We have decided that holding a runoff vote between the proactive response and non-response options is the appropriate measure," and added, "We will proceed with the runoff vote immediately during the holiday and close it by 6 p.m. on the 13th."

The controversy over Kim’s dissertation arose through media reports starting in July. Kim’s doctoral dissertation at Kookmin University’s Graduate School of Techno Design, titled "A Study on the Development of Fortune-telling Content Using Avatars: Focusing on the Development and Market Application of ‘Anita’," has been embroiled in allegations of plagiarism and other research misconduct.

Subsequently, Kookmin University’s Research Ethics Committee initiated a preliminary investigation but announced on the 10th of last month that it would not proceed with a full investigation. The reason given was that, according to regulations, reports received more than five years after August 31, 2012, regarding research misconduct will not be processed, meaning the statute of limitations for verification had expired.

Kookmin University students and alumni have opposed the university’s decision. In a student general vote held until the 7th, Kookmin University students showed a turnout rate of 50.47% (5,942 participants) and a 94.4% approval rate (5,609 votes), deciding to jointly urge a reinvestigation of the dissertation allegations.

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