Education Minister Nominee Lee Jin-sook Faces Calls for Resignation Amid Plagiarism Allegations

The University Education Research Institute (대교연), an educational civic group, has demanded the resignation of Lee Jin-sook, the nominee for Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, amid allegations of academic misconduct, including the appropriation of a student's thesis. In a statement released on July 11, the organization expressed concern over the growing controversy surrounding Lee, highlighting issues of educational expertise and ethical qualifications, as well as accusations of plagiarism and illegal early study abroad for her children.

The group emphasized the severity of the situation, noting that despite the establishment of research ethics guidelines and the implementation of related regulations at universities, Lee's alleged research misconduct has persisted. They stated, "There is no room for excuses."

Recent media reports have revealed that during her tenure as a professor at Chungnam National University, Lee allegedly summarized a graduate student's master's and doctoral theses and published them in various academic journals without proper citation, leading to accusations of 'thesis appropriation.' She reportedly included research methods and data from the student's thesis without acknowledging it, listing herself as the first author. Furthermore, identical errors found in the student's thesis also appeared in Lee's publications, intensifying the scrutiny.

The University Education Research Institute commented, "If the peer review process had been conducted properly, the issues raised by the media would constitute research misconduct and should not have been published. This indicates a failure in the peer review process. Ultimately, this controversy reflects not only on Lee but also on the insensitivity of our academic community, including universities and academic societies, towards research ethics."

The organization concluded by urging Lee Jin-sook to resign immediately and called on the government to thoroughly review and improve research ethics regulations and systems to prevent further incidents of academic misconduct in the academic community.