An overwhelming majority of professors in South Korea turn a blind eye to plagiarism, a poll showed Wednesday, highlighting their indifference to the problem facing local academia.

The email survey of 600 college professors showed that 86.3 percent of the respondents either criticize colleagues’ plagiarism privately or just wink at the practice.

Nearly 41 percent replied that plagiarism is a serious problem, with the remainder saying it is minor or not so grave, according to the survey by the Kyosu Shinmun, a weekly newspaper catering to professors.

More than 23 percent said plagiarism is the issue deserving the greatest attention from academia, while 24.3 percent chose professors’ indiscreet entry into politics, according to the findings.

The issue of plagiarism has recently drawn attention following a series of resignations of popular figures.

A famous TV announcer quit her show last month, admitting to plagiarizing others’ work in her master’s thesis. A radio show host followed suit for similar reasons.

A Seoul National University professor and a chief pastor at Sarang Community Church, one of the country’s largest churches, also came under fire last month for plagiarism allegations, with the professor stepping down from his post. (Yonhap News)