South Korean university moves to retroactively revoke ex-first lady’s degree over plagiarism

Sookmyung Women’s University in January concluded that Kim Keon-hee’s master’s thesis involved plagiarism

Sookmyung Women’s University has begun the process of revising its academic regulations to allow for the retroactive cancellation of degrees obtained before 2015, in a move that could lead to the revocation of former South Korean first lady Kim Keon-hee’s master’s degree following a confirmed case of plagiarism.

The university said on Wednesday that it convened its Graduate School of Education committee the previous day and agreed to add a new provision to Article 25-2 of its graduate school by-laws on the revocation of degrees.

The proposed revision would allow the regulation, enacted in June 2015, to be applied retroactively to degrees issued before that date. Sookmyung has enforced rules allowing the cancellation of degrees found to have been obtained through fraudulent means since 2015, pending review by the graduate school committee.

However, Kim received her master’s degree in art education from the university in 1999, and the current rules could not be applied to her case. The university said the revision aligns with the national Higher Education Act, which permits the retroactive application of degree revocation.

The university’s Research Integrity Committee launched an investigation into Kim’s thesis in November 2022 following a complaint from Yoo Young-joo, head of the university’s democratic alumni group. In January, the committee concluded that the thesis had involved plagiarism.

Neither Kim nor the alumni group filed objections, and the plagiarism finding was finalised on February 25. While the committee has yet to determine what sanctions to recommend – which could range from retraction or revision of the thesis to restrictions on future advising or reviewing of academic work – it delayed the process due to the lack of a retroactive revocation clause in school policy.

No statutory deadline exists for completing the post-investigation procedures. Sookmyung plans to solicit feedback from faculty and staff until May 25 before submitting the revision to its rules committee, academic affairs council and university senate for final approval.

Once the rule is enacted, if the committee recommends revocation, the university president will make the final decision. If Sookmyung revokes Kim’s master’s degree, Kookmin University – where Kim obtained a doctorate – is also expected to review the validity of her doctoral degree.

This story was first published by The Korea Times