First lady Kim Keon-hee / Korea times photo by Lee Han-ho

Sookmyung Women's University launched an inquiry last month into plagiarism allegations involving first lady Kim Keon-hee's master's degree thesis on art education, sources said Tuesday.

Kim has been under allegations that she plagiarized the dissertation, which she submitted in 1999 to the university's graduate school of education for her master's degree.

Sookmyung began a probe into Kim's case in mid-December, an alumni association of the university said, citing a letter sent from the school. The final result is expected to be out by around mid-March if relevant regulations requiring an outcome within 90 days upon such a probe's launch are observed. (Yonhap)