People Power Party Urges Immediate Resignation of Lee Jinsook, Harshly Criticizes as "Destroyer of Research Ethics"

Additional Allegations of Appropriating Students' Theses Raised

Lee Jinsook, the nominee for Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, arrived at the confirmation hearing preparation office set up at the Korea Education Facilities Safety Institute in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 30th of last month, responding to questions from the press. 2025.06.30 Photo by Yoon Dongjoo

On July 6, the People Power Party made a strong demand for the resignation of Lee Jinsook, the nominee for Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education. This move came in response to a series of allegations regarding research ethics violations, including duplicate publication of papers and plagiarism of students' theses.

Lee Junwoo, spokesperson for the People Power Party, stated in a commentary that "the allegations of research ethics violations by this nominee are at the level of a crime," and added, "The title 'destroyer of research ethics' suits her far better than Minister of Education nominee."

He pointed out, "According to reports, more than 10 papers suspected of plagiarizing students' theses have been identified," and criticized Lee Jinsook for "failing to properly comply with the National Assembly's requests for materials and making a mockery of the confirmation hearing process."

The spokesperson further added, "This is a clear research ethics violation corresponding to 'improper authorship and plagiarism,' which the Ministry of Education banned in 2015, and there are even suspicions of embezzlement of national research funds."

He continued, "A person who has stolen students' research achievements and deceived the academic community should not be entrusted with the future of education," and urged, "She should immediately make a public apology and resign."

Kim Heejung, a lawmaker from the same party, also criticized Lee Jinsook and other ministerial nominees on social media for their consistent attitude of saying, "I will explain at the hearing," arguing that "this is essentially a declaration of silence."

Meanwhile, according to the office of Kim Minjeon, a member of the National Assembly's Education Committee, Lee Jinsook, while serving as a professor at Chungnam National University in 2018, published two papers with similar experimental designs and conclusions in different academic journals, raising suspicions of 'salami publication.' In addition, it was revealed that these papers were almost identical to the theses of graduate students she was supervising at the time, leading to further allegations that she appropriated her students' work.