A news broadcast reported Tuesday that a K-pop star received a graduate degree from Kyung Hee University despite not meeting the requirements.

Along with the report, a photo of the singer was revealed. Though the face was blurred, the public was able to identify the person as singer Jo Kwon, who majored in Postmodern Music at the university.

Jo Kwon (Yonhap)

While Jo‘s agency, Cube Entertainment, has been refusing to comment on the matter, the singer’s acquaintance spoke to another media outlet, highlighting the star’s innocence.

“Jo attended the school diligently. He was passionate about studying and everyone who went to school with him knows that,” the acquaintance said. “He is upset about the matter as he does not think he was granted a degree for being a star.”

The police is currently looking into the matter.

By Im Eun-byel (silverstar@heraldcorp.com)