Hong Jin Young Apologizes And Admits To Plagiarism In Thesis

Dec 18, 2020

Hong Jin Young has issued an apology after Chosun University came to the tentative conclusion of plagiarism regarding her master’s thesis.

It was reported in November that Hong Jin Young’s master’s thesis was under suspicion of plagiarism, with the thesis reportedly scoring 74 percent on the plagiarism review site “Copy Killer.” Her agency denied the claims.

When accusations continued to spread, Hong Jin Young issued a statement in which she said, “I organized my time, conferred with the professor, and did my absolute best to create the thesis. Even though it passed without a problem at the time, now people are saying that it is being judged by some percent or other, and I am disappointed and frustrated because whatever I say now will sound like an excuse.” She stated that she had decided to give up her master’s and doctoral degrees.

On December 15, a Research Integrity Committee under the Chosun University Ethics Committee made the tentative judgment of plagiarism regarding Hong Jin Young’s master’s thesis. They sent it to the Graduate School Committee, which had given Hong Jin Young until 5 p.m. KST on December 18 to submit an explanation. The Graduate School Committee will make a final decision on whether or not plagiarism took place through a meeting on December 23. If this officially determines that she plagiarized, then both her master’s and doctoral degrees will be automatically canceled.

Hong Jin Young shared the following letter on her Instagram on December 18:

Hello, this is Hong Jin Young.

It’s already very late and I know that I can’t undo anything. However, I’m writing because I want to sincerely apologize and ask for forgiveness, even if it’s at this point in time.

On the day that I was making a comeback with a new song, a report came out about thesis plagiarism. I was so scared about what I should say and my mind went blank.

I think that even then, I couldn’t let go of my greed.. I was so scared because I felt like I wouldn’t be able to go back on stage again if I admitted to plagiarism.

So that’s why I was busy trying to justify myself by saying things like, ‘The professor said that there was no problem’ and ‘I’m not going to be lecturing with my degree.’ It was because I was scared that everything in my life so far would look like a lie.

I even had the lackadaisical thought that if I gave up my degree, then maybe people would let it go, maybe they would forgive me. That’s why I used the expression ‘convention.’ Maybe I was only thinking about finding a way out.

If a mistake is made, one must properly apologize and be chastised for it… Rather than reflecting, I was just busy making excuses. I wasn’t able to act in a mature or adult way. I made a mistake.

I will accept Chosun University’s tentative conclusion of plagiarism and I will deeply repent. I’ve also acted very disrespectfully toward the people who even now are working all day and night on their master’s and doctoral theses. I’m sorry. I will admit to everything and reflect.

I have received greater love that I deserve. I will now pay back that love while quietly spending time reflecting on myself and doing meaningful and good things.

I once again apologize. I am sincerely sorry.