Song Yoo-geun (born November 27, 1997) is a South Korean person who gained recognition as a
child prodigy
A child prodigy is defined in psychology research literature as a person under the age of ten who produces meaningful output in some domain at the level of an adult expert. The term is also applied more broadly to young people who are extraor ...
in South Korea since 2004. After graduating college in 2009, he was involved in a number of controversies during his ultimately unsuccessful doctorate program at
Korean University of Science and Technology
The University of Science and Technology (UST) is a group of public universities and research institutions in Seoul, Suwon, Changwon, Ansan, Seongnam and Daejeon, in South Korea. The UST was established in 2003 by the Ministry of Science, ICT an ...
(UST), including one involving his paper in October 2015 written with his advisor,
Park Seok-jae. The paper, entitled "Axisymmetric, Nonstationary Black Hole Magnetospheres: Revisited" appeared in the ''
Astrophysical Journal
''The Astrophysical Journal'', often abbreviated ''ApJ'' (pronounced "ap jay") in references and speech, is a peer-reviewed scientific journal of astrophysics and astronomy, established in 1895 by American astronomers George Ellery Hale and Jame ...
'' (ApJ). However, the paper was soon retracted due to concerns that it plagiarized a 2002 book chapter.
Life before October 2015
Song Yoo-geun left a prodigy school he attended in 2003. Six months of his independent study enabled him to solve pre-calculus problems. In August 2004, at age 6, he passe
"Craftsman Information Processing" (정보처리기능사)certification examination. In November of the same year, his parents tried to enroll him at a local elementary school (Shim Seok Elementary School; 심석초등학교) as a sixth grader. While Song did not perform well, obtaining a score of 12% on his math exam, his parents maintained that Song was neither used to, or interested in, calculating equations that lacked meaning. Although the school allowed this at first, it later reversed its decision, citing administrative difficulties. Song's parents took the elementary school to court, where the court ruled that the school's decision was unlawful in April 2005, allowing Song to study there as a sixth grader.
As Korean students must enroll in middle school within 30 days of the beginning of the school year, Song could not enroll in middle school even after winning the lawsuit. Song's parents decided to opt for a Korean equivalent of the
GED
The General Educational Development (GED) tests are a group of four subject tests which, when passed, provide certification that the test taker has United States or Canadian high school-level academic skills. It is an alternative to the US high ...
. Song passed the test, which gave him the right to enroll in high school in May 2005. He then went on to pass the test that certified him as a high school graduate in August 2005. Thus, Song finished the twelve-year curriculum spanning elementary school – middle school – high school in nine months, setting a new record.
In October 2005, he applied and was accepted to
Inha University
Inha University (인하대학교(仁荷大學校)) is a private research university located in Incheon, South Korea.
Known traditionally for research and education in the engineering and physical sciences, the University was established by the ...
through its early decision plans, which allows exceptional students to bypass the Korean equivalent of
SAT
The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times; originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, it was later called the Schol ...
s at age 7, being the youngest
university
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
student ever. During his interview with
Inha University
Inha University (인하대학교(仁荷大學校)) is a private research university located in Incheon, South Korea.
Known traditionally for research and education in the engineering and physical sciences, the University was established by the ...
, Song demonstrated his understanding of the
Schrödinger equation
The Schrödinger equation is a linear partial differential equation that governs the wave function of a quantum-mechanical system. It is a key result in quantum mechanics, and its discovery was a significant landmark in the development of the ...
, a
partial differential equation
In mathematics, a partial differential equation (PDE) is an equation which imposes relations between the various partial derivatives of a Multivariable calculus, multivariable function.
The function is often thought of as an "unknown" to be sol ...
which is of central importance to
quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, ...
theory. Considering his young age, Inha University formed a committee of seven, named "Song Yoo-Geun Committee," including professors and his mother, who gave him private lessons instead of the usual classroom style lectures. Inha University also provided Song with his own lab, and a residence space, so that he can stay with his parents, at his parents' request. His first semester
GPA
Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a numbe ...
was 3.8/4.5, approximately equivalent to a B+. However, In December 2008, mere two years after he has begun his studies, he decided to withdraw from Inha University, since he felt "difficult to study within the framework that the professor has arbitrarily decided for themselves." He said, "I want to study string theory or big bang theory, but I cannot do that as an undergraduate student."Of the 140 credits required for graduation, Song received 53 credits from Inha University, and 113 credits from an on-line degree institution. On this, Inha University said, that it "respects Song's decisions." To fulfill total credit hours to apply for a graduate school, he achieved
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
usin
Credit Bank System
He began at UST as a master's student in February 2009, with the intention of studying astronomy. Like Inha University, UST formed a committee of professors, titled "Song Yoo-Geun Project," and Song was given private lessons in lieu of classroom lectures.
The topics of the lectures varied from
quantum field theory
In theoretical physics, quantum field theory (QFT) is a theoretical framework that combines classical field theory, special relativity, and quantum mechanics. QFT is used in particle physics to construct physical models of subatomic particles and ...
,
nuclear physics
Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter.
Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...
,
astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...
, and
topology
In mathematics, topology (from the Greek language, Greek words , and ) is concerned with the properties of a mathematical object, geometric object that are preserved under Continuous function, continuous Deformation theory, deformations, such ...
. The university set aside 100 million Korean won (approximately US$80,000) for Song's classes and research. In February 2010, UST announced that Song was accepted to its combined master's and Ph.D. program,
with the goal of obtaining a Ph.D. in 2012.
He studied under the guidance of
Park Seok-jae, whose specialized area is
black hole
A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravitation, gravity is so strong that nothing, including light or other Electromagnetic radiation, electromagnetic waves, has enough energy to escape it. The theory of general relativity predicts t ...
modeling. He passed his candidacy exam in November 2014, by a presentation entitled "Gromov-Witten Invariants on Real Hypersurfaces of Kähler Manifold," and declared his intention to become a mathematician to the press. However, he again changed his mind to study
black holes
A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing, including light or other electromagnetic waves, has enough energy to escape it. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass can def ...
.
Controversy
Air Purification System Controversy
During a press conference in 2005, after he was admitted to Inha University, he brought a machine that purifies air, and gave a demonstration of it. The press and the Inha University officials reported that Song claimed it to be a machine that he invented himself, to thank the Korean citizens for their support, it became known later that the machine was in fact designed by a small company. According to CEO of JC Technologies, Song's father told him that being able to show off the machine in front of the press will help with its sales, and he had borrowed it from the company. Song's father quickly admitted this misunderstanding, saying that "Song has ambitions to study air purification methods using photosynthesis, so he just did a demonstration. There may have been parts where we were misunderstood, as this was our first large-scale press conference."
Plagiarism Controversy
In 2015, ''
The Astrophysical Journal
''The Astrophysical Journal'', often abbreviated ''ApJ'' (pronounced "ap jay") in references and speech, is a peer-reviewed
Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work ...
'' (ApJ) retracted Song's paper due to plagiarism issue. ApJ noticed that the paper plagiarized a 2002 book chapter,
which was originally a proceeding paper of Song's advisor,
Park Seok-jae.
Park first denied the plagiarism controversy towards Song, insisting he will "resign his position if any part of his paper is found unoriginal."
He also argued that Song's work on partial differential equation is totally of Song's, which is worth to be a "meaningful contribution as a doctoral student."
Against the argument that several parts of Song's paper is appeared to overlap Park's proceeding in 2002, Park said that the proceeding is conventionally not considered as an 'official' paper, so citing the proceeding paper is not a requirement nor an offence against academic integrity or research ethics.
UST took disciplinary actions against Park and Song where Park was dismissed as a professor from UST and Song was subjected to 2 weeks suspension.
Doctorate Degree
As UST requires one published paper in a journal listed in the
Science Citation Index
The Science Citation Index Expanded – previously entitled Science Citation Index – is a citation index originally produced by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) and created by Eugene Garfield. It was officially launched in 1964 and ...
as a graduation requirement, the retracted article would have qualified Song to apply for a Ph.D. degree. He published another paper and held his defense in June 2018, but did not pass it. UST policy allows 9 years for doctorate students so he was let out of the program in September 2018, and he filed for an injunction to stop this move in December 2018, at which time he
enlisted in the Korean army. But this request finally denied by the court in July 2019, thus making him officially not a student at UST anymore.
References
External links
*
* - retraction notice for Song Yoo Geun's publication in ''Astrophysical Journal''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Song, Yoo Geun
1997 births
Living people
Academic scandals
Hoaxes in science
Inha University alumni
People involved in scientific misconduct incidents
South Korean scientists
Yeosan Song clan
People involved in plagiarism controversies