Submitting Reverification Plan to Ministry of Education by November 3
Refused Main Investigation Due to Statute of Limitations, Then Reversed Position
[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Kookmin University has changed its position and decided to conduct a full investigation into the doctoral dissertation of Kim Geon-hee, the wife of former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol.
According to the Ministry of Education on the 20th, Kookmin University will convene the Research Ethics Committee by the 22nd to begin discussions on verifying the degree thesis, and has communicated that it will respond with a plan for re-verification of the thesis by November 3rd.
The Ministry of Education had previously instructed Kookmin University to revise its plan, stating that the official letter submitted on the 8th only included plans to review the preliminary investigation regulations or process, but lacked a substantive plan for re-investigating the thesis. Along with this, the Ministry ordered Kookmin University to immediately conduct an internal investigation regarding the doctoral thesis review process of Ms. Kim.
The Ministry of Education stated, "We will monitor whether the procedures such as convening the Research Ethics Committee meeting and starting the thesis verification, as announced by Kookmin University, are appropriately carried out according to schedule."
Ms. Kim received her doctoral degree in 2008 from Kookmin University’s Graduate School of Techno Design with a dissertation titled "A Study on the Development of Fortune-telling Content Using Avatars: Focusing on the Development and Market Application of 'Anita'."
In July, Kookmin University’s Research Ethics Committee initiated a preliminary investigation through a preliminary investigation committee after plagiarism allegations were raised regarding Ms. Kim’s doctoral dissertation. Subsequently, on the 10th of last month, the university announced that it would not conduct a full investigation because the verification period of five years had passed for the thesis.
Earlier, the Ministry of Education revised the "Guidelines for Securing Research Ethics" in 2011 to abolish the statute of limitations and recommended each university to do so, using this as grounds to instruct Kookmin University to establish a re-investigation plan.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye recently stated at a press briefing, "We abolished the verification statute of limitations to establish research ethics and have guided several universities to take action accordingly. Based on that intent, we will request Kookmin University to establish and implement a substantive action plan for thesis verification," adding, "Even though institutional improvements have been made to strengthen research ethics, it is unacceptable for these to not be institutionally implemented at the school level."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
