South Korean President’s Cabinet picks hit by plagiarism, staff mistreatment claims
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The opposition parties have called for the withdrawal of South Korean President Lee Jae-myung's picks to head the education and gender equality ministries.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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SEOUL – South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s picks to head the education and gender equality ministries are facing allegations that have sparked calls for their withdrawal.
Ms Lee Jin-sook, nominated for education minister – a position that doubles as deputy prime minister, has been accused of plagiarising an earlier paper by her student while she was a professor.
According to a page-to-page analysis of Ms Lee’s paper and her student’s, released by main opposition People Power Party (PPP) Representative Joo Jin-woo, some of the nominee’s paragraphs exactly matched those written by her student.
He claimed that “about half of her paper had been copied off her student’s”.
“This isn’t your typical academic plagiarism. The education minister nominee abused her authority as a professor to rip off her student’s paper. This is easily a crime of abuse of power,” he added.
The PPP said Ms Lee committed serious ethical violations in the academic community and was unfit for the position.
Ms Lee, a professor of architecture, served as president of Chungnam National University in South Chungcheong province. She was part of Mr Lee’s presidential campaign, heading a committee for beating elitism in college education.
Representative Kang Sun-woo, a human development expert-turned-Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker, who has been nominated as minister of gender equality, is also under scrutiny.
She faces accusations of “gapjil”, allegedly mistreating staff at her legislative office.
“Gapjil” is a Korean word that refers to abusive, arrogant or authoritarian behaviour from individuals in positions of power towards their subordinates.
Ms Kang replaced staff 46 times in a span of five years, which would mean she sacked a member of her staff nearly every month.
She allegedly made demands of them outside of their legislative support duties, such as asking them to do household chores for her.
Both nominees have denied the allegations.
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea said the controversy surrounding the two was a “mere smear tactic” by the PPP.
The minor Korean Democratic Labor Party and the Reform Party have joined the PPP in urging the President to drop the nominations.
But the protest from the opposition parties will not necessarily sink the nominations. Earlier picks with scandals and controversies, including Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, were not withdrawn from consideration and ended up being confirmed. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
