Lee Jun-seok on Academic Fraud Claims: "Don't Fall for Pathetic YouTubers and Surrender"

"Isn't there a separate person involved in controversies related to academic background and papers?"

In response to claims made by some YouTubers through their channels that Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the Reform New Party, forged his graduation credentials from Harvard University in the United States, Lee himself has issued a statement.

On the 29th, Lee posted on Facebook, beginning with, "Many American universities outsource the issuance of graduation certificates to the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC), and Harvard University is one of them." Along with this, he attached a link to the Harvard University homepage. The linked homepage states that academic credentials can be verified through the NSC.

Lee Jun-seok, leader of the Reform New Party, is speaking at a press conference hosted by the Seoul Foreign Correspondents' Club held at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 25th. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group

Lee raised his voice, saying, "Please stop falling for pathetic YouTubers and stop donating Super Chats (monetary transfers from viewers to YouTubers) to them." He added, "Isn't it true that those involved in controversies regarding academic credentials or theses are not Lee Jun-seok but key figures in the current administration?"

Meanwhile, some YouTubers have continuously raised allegations of academic credential forgery against Lee. In May of last year, Lee posted two photos of his diploma on Facebook in response to ongoing forgery claims. Regarding the claim that "Lee Jun-seok has no major," he retorted, "They probably don't even know what they are claiming. What does 'no major' graduation mean? Is there such a thing as graduating without a major in university?" He further stated, "It is not even worth mentioning further, and I am sending what they are saying in real-time to the police station. I will quietly send it to the police and will no longer mention it on Facebook."