Education Ministry to toughen rules after exam question scandal

This unrelated photo from Jan. 4 shows students heading to a private academy in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. (Yonhap)

The Ministry of Education said Tuesday that it is preparing new regulations to prevent private academy instructors from buying and selling questions for school tests and the mock college entrance exam, following a series of high-profile indictments.

“We will work to amend the Private Teaching Institute Act to provide clear legal grounds for punishment or sanctions against private academy instructors and operators who engage in illegal practices,” an Education Ministry official said.

"We will review what level of sanction or punishment befits which illegal actions by private academy instructors and operators," the official said, adding that the ministry aims to propose the amendment within this year.

Under current law, the education minister may suspend operations, shut down businesses or impose fines on private academies for violations such as false advertising or failure to register properly. However, there is no clause explicitly outlining sanctions for academies or instructors involved in the buying and selling of test questions.

The announcement comes after prosecutors last month indicted 46 private academy instructors, including high-profile “star lecturers” such as Cho Jung-shik and Hyun Woo-jin, on charges of obtaining exam questions from current teachers for use in private teaching materials.

Hyun and Cho allegedly paid sitting teachers 420 million won ($284,000) and 83 million won, respectively, in exchange for questions from the mock college entrance exam -- or Suneung -- and school tests.

According to prosecutors, buying and selling Suneung mock exam questions before the test is administered distorts the nationwide ranking of students and undermines the fairness of the admissions system.

The practice is also problematic because it allows instructors to unlawfully benefit their own businesses. By using questions obtained in advance to boost student scores, private academies can market inflated results, attract more students and increase enrollment.

Prosecutors have also indicted education company Hyconsi and Gangnam Daesung Institute on charges of trading exam questions with teachers between 2020 and 2023.

Concerns over the growing number of cases involving the trading of test questions were also raised by the Presidential Office.

“The foundation of a fair Republic of Korea is an admissions system free from cheating,” said presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik during a meeting of senior presidential aides on Monday.

“Education authorities owe students a sincere reflection and apology for the sense of futility and disillusionment they may have experienced.”