Former South Korean First Lady Stripped of Master's Degree, About to Lose Doctorate?

(Dan Tri) - After Sookmyung Women's University revoked the master's degree of former Korean first lady Kim Keon Hee, Kookmin University - where she received her doctorate - is also considering the possibility of revoking her degree.

In a statement released on June 24, Kookmin University (South Korea) said the school is taking necessary steps to review the validity of the doctorate that former Korean first lady Kim Keon Hee received at the school.

Ms. Kim Keon Hee received her doctorate from the School of Design Technology at Kookmin University in 2008. Prior to that, in 1999, she received her master's degree from the Graduate School of Education at Sookmyung Women's University (Korea).

Ms. Kim Keon Hee appeared at an event earlier this month (Photo: Korea JoongAng Daily).

Ms. Kim's master's degree was officially revoked by Sookmyung Women's University after it was discovered that her thesis contained plagiarism. Shortly after, Kookmin University also took action.

"Based on the fact that Ms. Kim Keon Hee's master's degree has been revoked, we are conducting the necessary process to evaluate whether she is eligible to pursue a doctoral program at the School of Design Technology, as well as whether the award of her doctoral degree is valid," said a school representative.

According to the Korean Higher Education Act, a condition for pursuing a doctoral program is to have a valid master's degree. The revocation of Ms. Kim's master's degree from Sookmyung Women's University will be the basis for Kookmin University to revoke her doctorate.

The school is in the process of collecting the necessary documents for the review, including official confirmation of the revocation of her master's degree from Sookmyung Women's University, as well as Ms. Kim's consent to access certain other relevant papers and documents.

"We will officially bring the matter to the School of Engineering and Technology council for discussion, then present it to the Kookmin University senior council, to make a final decision and take appropriate steps. Given the seriousness of the incident, we will make every effort to ensure the process is carried out quickly and accurately," the school's spokesperson emphasized.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/cuu-de-nhat-phu-nhan-quoc-bi-tuoc-bang-thac-si-sap-mat-bang-tien-si-20250625103916393.htm