Former first lady's master's degree to be revoked amid plagiarism allegations

Kim Keon Hee, wife of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, is seen after casting her vote for president at a polling station in Seoul, June 3. Yonhap

Sookmyung Women’s University announced on Monday that it had completed a revision of its academic regulations to revoke former first lady Kim Keon Hee’s master’s degrees amid plagiarism allegations.

The university council held a meeting and finalized the addition of a supplementary provision to the academic regulations regarding the revocation of degrees.

The original regulation allowed degrees obtained through fraudulent means to be revoked following deliberation by the Graduate School of Education committee. However, this regulation has only been in effect since June 13, 2015, meaning it could not be applied to Kim, who received her degree in 1999.

In response, the council added a clause stating that the revocation of degrees conferred prior to this provision shall be limited to cases involving serious and clear misconduct that significantly undermines ethical standards.

Allegations of plagiarism against Kim surfaced in December 2021, at a time when her husband, the now impeached former President Yoon Suk Yeol, had emerged as a prominent presidential candidate.

Following an accusation filed by the university’s alumni association, the university officially launched a preliminary investigation into the case in February 2022. In February this year, they ruled that Kim’s master's thesis had been plagiarized.

The final decision will be made by the Graduate School of Education committee following a resolution.

Rep. Kang Kyung-sook of the minor progressive Rebuilding Korea Party held a press conference at the National Assembly, Monday, urging Kookmin University to revoke her doctoral degree immediately.

Rep. Kang Kyung-sook, third from left, of the minor progressive Rebuilding Korea Party holds a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, Monday, to urge Kookmin University to revoke former first lady Kim Keon Hee's doctorate. Yonhap

The lawmaker said that the revocation of her master's degree affects the validity of Kim's Ph.D., which she earned from Kookmin University in 2008.

According to the Pan-academic National Verification Group, a group of 16 professors from 14 academic associations formed in 2022, a total of 220 out of the 860 sentences in Kim’s Ph.D. dissertation, which she produced when she attended Kookmin University’s Graduate School of Techno Design in 2008, were copied and pasted without citing the original sources.

“This is not just a personal matter; it is a test of the morality and fairness of Korean academia. I hope that both Kookmin University and the Ministry of Education will take responsible action to restore academic trust,” the lawmaker said.

Although Kookmin University has delayed the degree revocation process for over three years, citing internal verification procedures, it now plans to revoke Kim’s degree in line with Sookmyung Women's University's actions, according to local reports.

“If the master’s degree required for admission to the doctoral program is canceled, the doctoral degree is considered invalid from the outset. Therefore, the university will proceed with the revocation process without revising the academic regulations separately,” a Kookmin University official said.