AI · SEMICONDUCTOR · FACT CHECK
SKD WIREMostly True
An academic paper that received roughly 900 million won in government support has been retracted after it was found to contain fabricated citations apparently generated by AI, marking the first retraction of its kind in the Korea Citation Index (KCI) system. The case highlights growing risks of AI use in academic publishing.
The paper, which drew approximately 900 million won in research support, was found to include sources that do not exist. The citations are believed to have been generated by AI tools, a pattern consistent with so-called "hallucinated" references produced by large language models (LLMs).
The retraction is the first of its kind under KCI, Korea's citation index for scholarly journals. The case sets a precedent for how Korea's academic infrastructure handles AI-related integrity violations, as no prior paper indexed in KCI has been formally retracted on these grounds.
The case raises questions about oversight of publicly funded research as generative AI tools become widely used in academic writing. The presence of non-existent citations in a paper backed by roughly 900 million won in public support is expected to fuel discussion over verification procedures for government-funded publications.
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