'Daechi-dong edu consultant' accused of swindling parents

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An admissions consultant based in Seoul's affluent southern neighborhood of Daechi-dong, a hub of South Korea's private education sector, has been under investigation by police for allegedly collecting billions of won from parents as donations to universities, according to the police.

The Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency said Thursday that the suspect worked as an admissions consultant in Daechi-dong and allegedly swindled three parents out of money from 2020-2022.

Daechi-dong is regarded as the center of Korea's elite private education, housing private academies, or hagwon, that offer specialized lessons with the country's top teachers.

The suspect allegedly convinced the parents that their children could get into medical school or a prestigious university in Seoul if they gave money in the form of donations to universities through the admissions consultant.

The suspect reportedly received a total of 3.29 billion won ($2.5 million) from the parents.

From two parents who wished to send their children to medical school, the suspect is suspected of receiving 1.75 billion won and 1.2 billion won respectively, and 340 million won from another parent who wished to send their child to the Department of Political Science and Diplomacy of a Seoul-based university. For medical schools, it was found that the required donation money ranged from 800 million won to 1.1 billion won, depending on the university and its department.

Through a police investigation, it was found that the money was never sent to the universities. Rather, the money was used by the suspect to buy stocks, gamble and as entertainment expenses.

Police said the suspect was referred to the prosecution for fraud charges. During the investigation, the suspect allegedly claimed that the amount of money he was accused of taking had been “inflated.”

By Lee Jung-joo(lee.jungjoo@heraldcorp.com)