South Korea: Education minister nominee apologises over allegations of daughter's academic plagiarism

Seoul, July 16 (IANS) Education Minister nominee Lee Jin-sook apologised Wednesday over allegations of unlawfully sending her daughter to study abroad at an early age and committing academic plagiarism.

Lee's second daughter, now 33, was sent to study in the United States in 2007, when she was in her third year of middle school, in violation of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that stipulates compulsory education up to middle school.

During her confirmation hearing, Lee said she was "sincerely sorry" but emphasised that she was not aware at the time that her actions violated the law, Yonhap news agency reported.

Her daughter's departure to the US could have been legal if at least one of her parents had accompanied her abroad. But the minister nominee and her husband were both staying at home at that time.

Violators of the law are subject to a fine of less than 1 million won (US$730).

Lee issued an apology regarding serious allegations of academic misconduct. These accusations include potential plagiarism related to a thesis authored by one of her students, as well as concerns over the duplicate publication of her own research work.

--IANS

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