Controversy Surrounds Kim Min-seok's Master's Degree from Tsinghua University

On June 17, Kim Min-seok, the nominee for Prime Minister under the Lee Jae-myung administration, attended a press conference in Seoul. Amidst allegations from the People Power Party regarding his Master of Laws degree from Tsinghua University in China, Weekly Chosun has obtained a copy of his thesis. Kim received his degree in July 2010 from Tsinghua, the alma mater of former Chinese President Hu Jintao. However, questions have arisen about the feasibility of completing the degree in just 11 months while simultaneously engaging in domestic political activities, including running for the Busan mayoral candidacy in the June 2010 local elections.

In his campaign materials for the 2020 general elections, Kim stated that he studied at Tsinghua from September 2009 to July 2010. The Busan mayoral primary took place on May 9, 2010, and it has been confirmed that he submitted his thesis to Tsinghua in May of that year. Tsinghua University is one of China's top institutions, alongside Peking University, and is also the alma mater of current Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Kim's thesis, which spans 65 pages including a 55-page main text, primarily discusses the topic of 'defectors from North Korea.' While the title, summary, and acknowledgments are in Korean, the majority of the thesis is written in English. However, there are notable errors, such as misspelling his advisor's name in the Chinese version of the acknowledgments and omitting his son's name, which has been a point of contention in recent discussions about 'nepotism.'

Interestingly, the Chinese title of the thesis uses the term '도북자 (doubukja),' meaning 'people who escaped from North Korea,' instead of the more commonly used '탈북자 (talbukja),' which translates to 'defector.' In the acknowledgments, he uses '반도자 (bandoja),' which means 'traitor who fled,' a term that carries a different connotation, typically associated with political or ideological betrayal, rather than economic reasons for leaving North Korea.

The professor who supervised Kim's thesis, Li Zhao-jie (李兆杰), passed away in May at the age of 70, making it difficult to verify the specifics of Kim's degree acquisition. Li was a prominent legal scholar who earned his degrees from the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Toronto.

Despite the thesis's content being largely acceptable, it raises questions about the choice of terminology. Kim used '도북자' 16 times in the thesis, a term that is not widely recognized in China, where the term '탈북자' is more prevalent. A lawyer from a major Chinese law firm noted that '도북자' is rarely used, with terms like '투도자 (tudouja)' being more common for those who illegally immigrate for economic reasons.

Additionally, there were errors in the acknowledgments section, where Kim mistakenly wrote his advisor's name incorrectly. While the English version of the acknowledgments includes his wife and children's names, the Chinese version only mentions his wife and daughter, which could be disappointing for his son, especially amid the ongoing 'nepotism' controversy.

Kim's son, born in 2005, is currently studying at Cornell University after graduating from a prestigious high school affiliated with the Unification Church. Kim has previously stated that his children's education was primarily managed by their mother during his challenging political career.

It has also been revealed that a former aide, Park, provided significant assistance in writing Kim's thesis. Park, who worked as Kim's secretary during his time as a non-elected official, confirmed that he helped with research and logistics for Kim's trips to China for his studies.

In a recent interview, Kim explained that he managed to balance his political duties with his studies by attending morning meetings and flying to Beijing twice a week. He claimed that the costs of studying at Tsinghua were manageable, citing a small dormitory and affordable flight options at the time.