"Please Do Something Productive..." Lee Jun-seok Reveals Diploma Amid Academic Credential Controversy

Partial Rebuttal to Some Conservative YouTubers' Claims by Revealing Diploma
Legal Action Announced, Saying "All YouTubers Have Been Sued"

Lee Jun-seok, former leader of the People Power Party, who was recently embroiled in allegations of academic fraud, has revealed his Harvard University diploma. On the 28th, he posted a photo on Facebook, writing, “To the YouTubers who are tirelessly trying to prove that Lee Jun-seok is a fake Harvard graduate, and their followers, I am revealing this photo for the first time in 10 years.”

The academic fraud controversy arose recently when some conservative YouTubers raised suspicions. Former lawmaker Cha Myung-jin claimed in a video titled “Why can’t Lee Jun-seok explain the academic fraud controversy?” posted on his YouTube channel on the 18th, “He should at least submit a transcript or research plan, but nothing has ever been submitted.”

Kim Young-yoon, head of the Politico Political Research Institute and vice-chair of the Women’s Committee of the People Power Party Central Committee, also joined the academic suspicion claims on the 24th through YouTube channels and social media, stating, “It is true that former leader Lee enrolled and attended Harvard, but he is not a graduate.”

Former Leader of the People Power Party, Lee Jun-seok [Image Source=Yonhap News]

They based their claims on the fact that there was no double major system at Harvard in 2007 when Lee was supposed to graduate, and that the diploma Lee revealed differed from Harvard’s official diploma.

Lee refuted the academic controversy on Facebook, saying, “‘Tajinyo’ (Demanding the truth from Tablo) repeats endlessly every season,” and added, “This matter was concluded through investigations by authorities with 12-year-old transcripts, diplomas, and verification of access to the alumni site, and there are articles and videos left, yet there is chaos every day.” He further proposed, “How about a 1 billion won bet on whether my Harvard graduation or double major in Computer Science and Economics is false?”

The ‘Tajinyo incident’ Lee referred to is the 2010 case where the Naver cafe ‘Demanding the Truth from Tablo (Tajinyo)’ falsely accused singer Tablo of academic fraud, which turned out to be a witch hunt based on fake news, causing a major social controversy.

Lee expressed his frustration, saying, “If I show my diploma, they say it’s forged; if I show my graduation certificate, they say it’s forged; if I show my transcript, they say it’s forged. If I show a photo right after birth, they say it’s photoshopped; if I show my birth certificate, they say it’s forged; if I provide a resident registration copy, they say it’s forged; if I show my ID card, they say it’s forged. This is the pattern.”

Photo of Harvard University diploma released by former representative Lee Jun-seok [Image source=Lee Jun-seok Facebook]

Regarding the diploma photo, he added, “They say there’s no gold foil or seal, but real diplomas originally have embossing like that on the lower right.” He said, “I don’t know which YouTuber has the authority or even minimal experience to analyze a Harvard diploma,” and emphasized, “Please stop being swayed by YouTubers and do something productive.”

Lee also announced legal action amid the ongoing controversy. “I have already sued all the YouTubers who raised these allegations,” and requested, “If anyone spreads false information on blogs or Facebook, please let me know by email.” He warned, “Those who spread false information will be held accountable, even if they are not YouTubers.”

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