South Korean first lady Kim Keon-hee plagiarised master’s thesis, university concludes

Sookmyung Women’s University launched a review in 2022 after Kim was accused of falsifying the dissertation she submitted to the institution’s graduate school of education in 1999 to pursue a master’s course.

The Seoul-based private university presented its report to Kim last December and she has until the end of this month to contest the findings.

If the president’s wife appeals against the decision, the university would consider her request before finalising the results, Yonhap reported, citing unidentified sources.

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It is not the first time Kim, who also faces allegations ranging from stock market manipulation to interference in election nominations, has been embroiled in a controversy over her academic credentials.

In 2022, Seoul’s Kookmin University cleared Kim of plagiarism after a months-long probe into her doctoral dissertation. She earned her PhD in design from the school in 2008.