IOC member's plagiarism now confirmed
By Jung Min-ho
Moon Dae-sung
Kookmin University concluded Thursday that Moon Dae-sung, an athlete member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and a lawmaker, copied-and-pasted his way toward a doctoral thesis from the school.
After a two-year investigation, the school’s research ethics committee notified Moon of the result Wednesday that his thesis, “Effect of Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) on Flexibility and Isokinetic Muscle Strength in Taekwondo Practitioners,” was “seriously plagiarized.”
The decision will likely cause the IOC ethics committee to resume its investigation, which was halted in December as the school had not reached a conclusion. At the time, IOC President Thomas Bach said, “If new elements emerge, however, the case could be reconsidered.”
The result could cost him his IOC membership, but spokesman Andrew Mitchell told The Korea Times, “The IOC has not yet received any official information from the university in this regard, thus it is not in a position to comment at this stage.”
A Kookmin University ethics committee official confirmed to The Korea Times that it has not contacted the IOC yet.
The school is soon expected to take disciplinary action against Moon, possibly cancelling his doctorate degree.
Moon, who was elected in April 2012 to represent Busan’s Saha-A district but left the ruling Saenuri Party shortly after the plagiarism allegation, recently rejoined the party.
The ruling party is drawing massive criticism for shielding Moon, whose political career is now in tatters.
Kim Jeong-hyeon, a deputy spokesman of the Democratic Party, said Thursday Moon’s plagiarism “will be remembered as the most dishonorable case in Korean sports diplomacy history,” calling for the lawmaker to step down.
“Moon’s plagiarism will likely negatively affect the athletes Kim Yu-na, Jang Mi-ran and Jin Jong-oh, who expressed their interest in seeking a career at the IOC,” Kim said.
United Progressive Party deputy spokesman Lee Ki-jung said the party expects the IOC’s investigation will be resumed soon.
The issue came to the fore in 2012 when Kookmin University announced after its first investigation that Moon’s thesis “goes beyond what is normally permitted by the academic community.”
The school soon initiated a second probe into the case at the request of Moon who claimed his innocence.
In 2012, former Hungarian President Pal Schmitt, a double Olympic fencing gold medalist and IOC member since 1983, was reprimanded by the IOC ethics commission after a panel at Semmelweis University found his thesis was plagiarized. The scandal also forced Schmitt to step down as president of Hungary.