Human Rights Agency Chief Suspected of Self-Plagiarism
By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
New human rights agency chief Hyun Byung-chul came under fire Sunday for allegedly plagiarizing his own academic papers in 1989 and 2002.
The allegation is expected to deal a fresh blow to President Lee Myung-bak amid criticism that Cheong Wa Dae has lax ethical standards in choosing candidates for key government positions.
Hyun, a law professor at Hanyang University, allegedly copied many paragraphs from his papers published in 1986 and 1998 for other papers published by different journals in 1989 and 2002, respectively, the Hankyoreh newspaper reported.
The original papers and the copied ones had different titles and some different sentences, but virtually are the same, it said, quoting legal experts. Hyun failed to identify quotations or reveal the source of information in the copied papers.
Hyun denied the report, saying he wrote about different subjects in the papers, but they could carry the same sentences.
The professor was named the chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Thursday, but civic groups alleged he is not qualified to take the job because he has no track record in fighting for democracy and human rights.
Hyun had been president of Hanyang Cyber University, an Internet unit of Hanyang, since March 2006.
After graduating from the Law School of Wonkwang University in North Jeolla Province, he served as secretary-general and vice chairman of the Korea Law Professors Association in Seoul.
The 65-year-old chairman is said to be politically neutral with no strong political ties to President Lee, but not welcomed by human rights groups.
Hyun planned to attend the inauguration ceremony on Friday, but couldn't due to protests by rights activists. They demanded Hyun step down.
Earlier, presidential secretary designate for social affairs Park Mee-seok, a former professor at Sookmyung University in Seoul, resigned for plagiarizing her student's thesis for one of her past research papers.
In 2006, then education minister Kim Byong-joon stepped down from his post, taking responsibility for a thesis plagiarism scandal only 12 days after taking office.
On Wednesday, President Lee withdrew his pick for prosecutor-general after the nominee, Chun Sung-gwan, was caught lying at a parliamentary confirmation hearing while answering questions regarding a bribery scandal.