Manual Comparison of Original Texts Reveals Similarities with Student's Dissertation
"Beyond Simple Controversy, Qualifications as Educational Administrator in Doubt"
Calls for the voluntary resignation of Lee Jinsook, nominee for Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, are intensifying. There have also been claims that her dissertation amounts to a "replica" in essence.
Yonhap News reported on the 20th that the "National Verification Group for Academic Integrity," composed of academic experts, issued a statement to this effect. This group includes 11 professors' associations, such as the Korea Private University Professors Association, and has previously led the revocation of a master's degree through the verification of Kim Keonhee's thesis.
Earlier, at her confirmation hearing in the National Assembly on the 16th, Lee stated, "According to the verification by Chungnam National University and external experts, the plagiarism rate of my past dissertations was assessed to be below 10% in all cases," and argued, "The controversy over my thesis stems from misunderstandings by those who do not fully comprehend the academic context." She also added, "I have never plagiarized or appropriated my students' theses."
However, the verification group asserted in its statement, "The main papers authored by nominee Lee exhibit serious structural similarities and constitute a direct violation of research ethics."
The group explained that it conducted a detailed analysis of multiple research works, including Lee's papers and the doctoral dissertation of her student, referred to as A. This process involved a manual, one-to-one comparison of the original texts, rather than relying on a simple plagiarism detection program.
As a result of the analysis, the group emphasized, "We found numerous instances where only the titles were changed, but the same experimental design and data were repeatedly used, or where the paragraph structure and interpretation of conclusions were similar." In particular, papers written in 2018 while Lee was a professor at Chungnam National University, such as "A Study on Fatigue Assessment According to Changes in Area and Illuminance of Lighting" and "A Study on Discomfort Glare Assessment," were cited as problematic.
The group explained that these papers are nearly identical to the student's doctoral dissertation, "A Study on Discomfort Glare Design Indicators According to Changes in System Lighting," in terms of evaluation methods, conclusions, sentences and expressions, and experimental approaches. They also specifically pointed out instances where identical expressions appeared verbatim in some of the papers.
On the 14th, at the public report meeting for the verification of candidate Lee Jinsuk, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, held by the National Verification Group for Academic Integrity, Yoo Wonjun, Chairman of the Korea Private University Professors Association, is speaking. Photo by Yonhap News
The group criticized, "The repetition of essentially similar content in experimental design, interpretation methods, and paragraph structure constitutes not just a simple similarity but a clear act of research misconduct," adding, "This is a grave matter that seriously undermines academic integrity and research ethics."
They further argued, "Nominee Lee's papers are not just a matter of duplicate publication or similarity; they fundamentally call into question her qualifications as a person responsible for educational administration," and warned, "If such an individual were to lead the Ministry of Education, the legitimacy of Korea's academic, research, and ethics policies would inevitably be compromised."
In addition, the group stated, "By academic standards, nominee Lee's papers clearly constitute grounds for disqualification," and revealed that they are considering taking action in cooperation with international academic organizations if necessary.
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