Hong Jin Young has admitted to plagiarizing her thesis after Chosun University came to the tentative conclusion that she plagiarized her master’s thesis.
The issue came to light back in November, Hong Jin Young was accused of plagiarizing her thesis, her thesis scored a reported 74% on the plagiarism review site “Copy Killer.” Her agency denied the news at the time and she came out with a statement denying it but stating she’ll ‘give up’ her thesis, she expressed her frustration talking about how hard she’s worked on the thesis and how she never faced any issues at the time until now when accusations have come out against her.
On December 15, a Research Integrity Committee under the Chosun University Ethics Committee came to the tentative judgment that Hong Jin Young’s master’s thesis was plagiarized, they gave her until 5 p.m. KST on December 18 to submit an explanation. On December 23, the committee will hold a final meeting to determine if she officially plagiarized, if she did, her master’s and doctoral degrees will be automatically stripped away from her.
On December 18, Hong Jin Young posted an apology to her instagram account explaining why she lied at first,
“On the day of my new comeback, a report came out about the thesis plagiarism. I was so scared about what I should say and my mind went blank.
Even then, it seemed that I couldn’t get rid of my greed. I was so afraid that if I admitted that it was plagiarism, I could never get on the stage again.
This is why I was busy trying to explain myself by saying things like ‘the professor said there was no problem’ and ‘I am not going to lecture with my degree.’ It was because I was afraid that everything that I worked for in my life would be seen as a lie.”
Hong Jin Young added that by giving it up, she thought people might ‘let it go and maybe would forgive me,’ she also added that she’ll accept Chosun University’s tentative conclusion of plagiarism and will repent,
“I’ve acted very disrespectfully towards the people who even now are working day and night on their master’s and doctoral thesis. I’m sorry. I admit to everything and I will reflect.”
The degree Hong Jin Young held was a Bachelor of Commerce, Master of Trade, and Ph.D in Business Administration from Chosun University.
Despite her apology statement, many k-netizens continue to be critical of her especially considering how she phrased her first statement in which she denied the accusations head on, many think she should face consequences for what she’d done.
What do you think of this?
