Education Minister Nominee Lee Jin-sook Submits Clarifications Amid Controversies

Lee Jin-sook, the nominee for Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, has submitted a clarification document to the National Assembly addressing various controversies surrounding her candidacy. On July 7, her personnel preparation team provided a 26-page reference document related to her confirmation hearing.

In response to allegations of splitting research papers, Lee's team stated, "The two papers share the same experimental design but investigate different variables, making them distinct works." The papers in question, authored during her tenure as a professor at Chungnam National University in 2018, are titled 'A Study on the Evaluation of Discomfort Glare According to Changes in Lighting Area and Intensity' and 'A Study on the Evaluation of Fatigue According to Changes in Lighting Area and Intensity.' Lee emphasized that discomfort glare and fatigue are separate concepts.

Regarding accusations that she published a summary of a student’s thesis as the primary author in a journal, Lee clarified that she led the research and co-authored the paper with the master's student. She explained that the student utilized part of a national research project for their thesis, asserting that she was the main contributor to the published work.

Lee also addressed the controversy from her time as president of Chungnam National University in 2022, when she ordered the removal of a statue of the 'Comfort Woman' installed on campus. She explained that the statue was erected without the necessary administrative consent under the National Property Act, and her actions were intended to prevent future issues related to national property management. After the statue was established by the university's alumni association in August 2022, the university issued a notice declaring it an illegal structure and ordered its removal. Lee expressed regret for being perceived as passive during discussions about the statue's installation but disagreed with claims of lacking historical awareness.

In response to claims that she was involved in the Lee Myung-bak administration's Four Major Rivers Project while serving on the National Architectural Policy Committee, Lee stated that she had been active on the Central Urban Planning Committee since the previous administration.

Lee's formal response for the confirmation hearing has yet to be submitted to the National Assembly, with a deadline set for July 14, two days before the hearing on July 16.