Singer Hong Jin-young's degrees to be revoked over dissertation plagiarism

Chosun University has decided to revoke the master's and doctoral degrees it awarded to trot singer Hong Jin-young after discovering she plagiarized the dissertation paper that qualified her for the master's degree. / Korea Times file

By Lee Gyu-lee

Trot singer Hong Jin-young will have two of her degrees ― a master's and a Ph.D. ― revoked by Chosun University for plagiarizing her dissertation paper 11 years ago.

The institution in Gwangju concluded its investigation into the singer's plagiarism case Wednesday, saying: “Hong Jin-young's master's dissertation paper has been found to be plagiarized.”

The private school said it will initiate an administrative protocol to revoke her degrees.

“We will do our best to strictly reinforce academic integrity policy, including plagiarism and research ethics,” the school said.

Local newspaper the Kukmin Ilbo raised the plagiarism claim on Nov. 5.

It reported that Hong's dissertation, "Study on the cultural content industry through Hallyu," scored a 74 percent plagiarism rate on the checking service Copykiller.

She received her master's in International Trade with the paper in 2009 and earned a Ph.D. from the school in 2012.

Hong and her agency IMH Entertainment denied the accusation soon after the report, saying the high rate was a result of source citations and excerpts from supporting research.

Hong said she would willingly give up both of her degrees to quell public anger, saying: "No matter how I explain, it would only sound like an excuse, which is very frustrating and devastating."

Despite the singer's denial, the university launched an investigation.

When the preliminary conclusion came in against Hong on Dec. 15, the singer shared a handwritten letter admitting the wrongdoing.

“I kept justifying it to myself, saying 'the professor said it was fine,' 'it's not like I'm going to give lectures with this degree,'” she said, adding she was afraid she will lose her music career.

“I was too busy making excuses when I should have been apologizing and reflecting on what I've done. I feel terribly sorry to those working days and nights on master's and doctoral dissertation papers … I admit to everything and deeply apologize.”

Since the plagiarism claim surfaced, TV reality shows that Hong was starring in began to axe her after a storm of public criticism.

MBC variety show "Buddy into the Wild" and SBS show "My Ugly Duckling" have removed all her scenes from episodes filmed before the November claim.

MBC confirmed on Dec. 15 that “Hong Jin-young will be leaving the program.”