4 in 16 Article on One Elsevier Special Issue Were Published by the Guest Editor Jong Seong Khim
Recently, the 5GH team found another case that the guest editor for an Elsevier special issue violated the rules from the publisher.
Elsevier sets a rule for its guest editors that they can publish maximum one article on the special issue they edit, unless the editor in chief of the journal allows the guest editors to publish more.
However, Jong Seong Khim with Seoul National University, one of the guest editors of the special issue "Source and sink of pollutants in contaminated site: assessment, simulation and management" on the journal "Science of the Total Environment", published 4 articles on that special issue, resulting in 4 in 16 articles in that special issue were coauthored by Khim.
There is no public information if the editor in chief for Science of the Total Environment approved the publications from Khim on that special issue.
It is found that similar concerns were raised to multiple special issues on Science of the Total Environment. A few days earlier, the 5GH team found XIN Xiaoping with the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science published 3 articles on her special issue "Eurasian Grassland Ecosystems: Changes, Drivers and Consequences at Multi-scales" [1].
The concerns that researchers take advantages of their role as the guest editor to promote their publications were among the scientific community. This hurts the other researchers, especially those on their early stage of career, making them face unfairness to publish their works. And the scientific community needs justice.
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