Kookmin University, the Fateful November

Plan to Respond by the 3rd on Reinvestigation of Kim Geon-hee's Thesis
Ministry of Education to Conduct Special Audit on Various Allegations This Month
Deputy Prime Minister Yoo Eun-hye Also Criticizes Delay in Thesis Investigation

[Image source=Yonhap News]

November is a fateful month for Kookmin University. The university is facing an audit by the Ministry of Education due to inadequate responses to various allegations related to Kim Gun-hee, the wife of Yoon Seok-yeol, a presidential candidate from the opposition party and former Prosecutor General.

The Ministry of Education has decided to conduct a special audit this month on Kookmin University's purchase of Deutsche Motors stocks, the degree conferral process of the Techno Design Graduate School, and faculty personnel management. Although there were numerous demands during last month's National Assembly audit for a comprehensive audit, a special audit will be conducted to clarify suspicions related to specific issues. Since the audit process will take considerable time, the results of the Kookmin University audit are expected to be announced next year.

An official from the Ministry of Education stated, "We plan to thoroughly review the degree conferral procedures, processes, and submission of false credentials, focusing mainly on compliance with procedures and regulations at the Ministry level." The official added, "The duration may vary depending on the content and scope of the audit, but we believe it will be difficult to announce the results this year."

Kookmin University must submit its plan for re-verification of Kim's thesis to the Ministry of Education by the 3rd. Last month, the university convened the Research Ethics Committee and announced its intention to begin discussions on verifying the degree thesis. Separately, an internal investigation into the doctoral thesis review process of Kim is also underway.

On the 2nd, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye continued strong criticism toward Kookmin University during a meeting of the Education Trust Recovery Promotion Team. Yoo said, "It is a decision that does not meet the public’s expectations and common sense that the university authorities have not started a substantive investigation even after several months," and criticized, "It is very regrettable that Kookmin University still cites the five-year statute of limitations on research verification in its academic regulations, which has not been revised, as a reason for being unable to conduct research verification."

The Ministry of Education has decided to overhaul regulations to strengthen the establishment of research ethics in response to the Kookmin University incident. Although the Ministry deleted the verification statute of limitations from the 2011 guidelines for securing research ethics, many institutions, including Kookmin University, have not reflected the revised guidelines and still maintain the statute of limitations as an addendum.

The Ministry of Education will publicly announce the draft amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Academic Promotion Act starting from the 3rd. The decree explicitly states that the Minister of Education can request the relevant university to revise its internal regulations. It also includes provisions allowing the Ministry to directly investigate cases where allegations of research misconduct arise and where there is a significant public interest. Additionally, it contains provisions for conducting research ethics status surveys and disclosing the results of such investigations.

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