Regarding the Claim "Most Resumes Are False"
Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol (left) and his wife Kim Keon-hee. [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Following allegations of research misconduct in the doctoral dissertation of Kim Gun-hee, wife of Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate and former Prosecutor General, suspicions of 'career laundering' have now been raised. The main point is that Kim allegedly submitted false records of her work experience at elementary, middle, and high schools in order to teach at a university.
On the 7th, members of the National Assembly's Education Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea and Kang Min-jung of the Open Democratic Party held a press conference urging Kim to clarify the matter.
According to materials they received from the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, Kim wrote in her resume submitted with a teaching application to Seoil University in 2004 that she worked at ▲ Daedo Elementary School in Seoul from 1997 to 1998 ▲ Gwangnam Middle School in Seoul in 1998 ▲ Yeongnak High School in Seoul in 2001. She also stated that she participated in the BK21 project while enrolled in the doctoral program at the Graduate School of Techno Design at Kookmin University in 2003.
Regarding this, the lawmakers claimed at the press conference, "After confirming with the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education and others, most of the work experience Kim listed was false."
Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of Education for Seoul, also responded during the National Assembly audit to questions from Democratic Party lawmakers Ahn Min-seok and Do Jong-hwan, saying, "We checked the lists of employees submitted by each school, and Kim was not on the list of workers for the relevant years."
The Ministry of Education also replied in writing to Kang Min-jung's inquiry about whether Kim participated in the BK21 project after 2003, stating, "There is no such record."
Ruling party lawmakers emphasized at the press conference, "Kim is the wife of the immediate former Prosecutor General and the wife of a leading opposition presidential candidate," adding, "The Yoon Seok-yeol campaign, which defended Kim, must show a responsible attitude not only regarding the substandard thesis and false career records but also the allegations raised so far."
Lawmaker Do Jong-hwan also stated in materials distributed that day, "When controversy over Kim's career arose, a media outlet reported in August that Kim did a student teaching practicum at Gwangnam Middle School in Seoul in 1998," adding, "A student teaching practicum cannot be included as work experience at the school, let alone as teaching experience." Under the current Elementary and Secondary Education Act, only full-time work as a teacher at a school is recognized as career experience.
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