Sookmyung Women's University Launches Preliminary Investigation into Kim Geon-hee's Master's Thesis Plagiarism Allegation

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] It has been confirmed that Sookmyung Women's University has launched a preliminary investigation into allegations of plagiarism in the master's thesis of Kim Gun-hee, spouse of Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate. The preliminary investigation is a stage to determine whether an official investigation into the misconduct allegations is necessary.

According to the education sector on the 10th, Sookmyung Women's University newly formed the Research Ethics and Integrity Committee and established a preliminary investigation committee to handle the plagiarism allegations regarding Kim's thesis, and began a full-scale investigation on the same day.

According to the regulations of Sookmyung Women's University Research Ethics Committee, the preliminary investigation committee must decide whether to commence a full investigation within 30 days from the start date of the investigation and obtain the president's approval.

Kim's master's thesis submitted in 1999 to the Graduate School of Education at Sookmyung Women's University, majoring in Art Education, titled "A Study on the Characteristics of Paul Klee's Paintings," has been accused of plagiarism.

JTBC reported that the plagiarism rate reached 42% after verifying Kim's master's thesis using the plagiarism detection program "Copy Killer."

In response, Choi Ji-hyun, chief deputy spokesperson of the People Power Party's election campaign headquarters, rebutted, saying, "The 42% plagiarism rate presented by JTBC was calculated by applying current research ethics standards to a 1999 master's thesis, using 'Copy Killer,' a simplified method rather than a formal investigation by the university, including other conditions. It is not accurate."

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