매년 유명 연예인과 정치인을 상대로 일어나는 표절논란, 이제는 놀랍지도 않다. 최근에는 스타강사이자 티비 프로그램 진행자인 김미경(48)이 논란의 중심이 되고 있다.

케이블 채널 tvN의 인기 강연 프로그램 “김미경 쇼”의 호스트인 그녀는 이화여대에서 받은 석사 학위 논문이 표절이라는 의혹을 받고 있다.

대학교 측에서는 그녀가 2007년 2월 발표한 정책과학대학원 석사 학위 논문이 최소한 4개의 기존 학위 논문을 짜깁기 했다는 소문의 진위를 파악 중이며 결과 여부에 따라 연구진실성위원회를 열어 후속 조치를 취할 것이라 발표했다.

조선일보의 보도에 따르면, 김미경은 2003년과 2004년, 지방 소재 대학에서 발표된 논문의 문단들과 심지어 각주까지 그대로 베끼었으며, 서울 소재 대학에서 1995년 발표된 논문의 내용도 가져다 쓴 것으로 알려졌다.

수요일, 김미경은 다른 논문의 내용을 참고한 것은 맞지만, 인용과 관련된 학계기준을 못 맞춘 “실수”에 불과하다며 표절혐의를 부인했다

<관련 영문 기사>

Celebrity speaker in hot seat over plagiarism case

By Oh Kyu-wook

It’s hardly a surprise. The list of politicians and celebrities accused of plagiarizing theses grows every year, and the latest in a string of high-profile plagiarism cases is of celebrity speaker and TV host Kim Mi-kyung.

The 48-year-old, who hosts “Kim Mi Kyung show” for the cable channel tvN, is accused of plagiarizing her master’s degree thesis submitted to Ewha Womans University.

The university announced Wednesday that it was investigating the rumors after receiving an allegation that she had copied at least four other theses for the thesis written for the graduate school of policy in February, 2007.

The school said it would decide after the initial investigation whether to summon the school’s ethics committee, in which case she could lose her degree depending on its findings.

According to a Chosun Ilbo report, Kim is believed to have copied several paragraphs and footnotes from other master’s degree theses published in 2003 and 2004 and also from a local professor’s academic report from 1995.

Kim admitted Wednesday that she used the words of others, though she denied the plagiarism accusation, saying it was a “careless mistakes” to not fully identify her citations.

Kim graduated from Yonsei University with a bachelor’s degree in music and earned her master’s degree from Ewha Womans University. She rose to stardom with her speaking skills gained from her public speeches since the age of 29. She also wrote bestseller “Dream On,” which covers people from all walks of life who pursue their dreams.

In another plagiarism case, a Seoul National University professor recently resigned after accusations of plagiarizing his thesis published in 2004.

The 48-year-old surnamed Kim offered his resignation after admitting that he copied an article from Yale University for his article published by the Korean Association of International Studies.

(596story@heraldcorp.com)