After 20 months of investigating irregularities linked to the Suneung college entrance exam, South Korean police have booked 126 individuals and referred 100 of them to prosecutors, according to the National Office of Investigation on Thursday.
The investigation began following a request from the Ministry of Education in July 2023, leading to a full-scale probe in August of that year.
In June 2023, the South Korean government announced reforms to the Suneung exam, including the removal of so-called excessively difficult “killer questions.” As part of these changes, the Education Ministry began investigating misleading ads and instances of examiners leaking questions to private academies, which is prohibited to ensure fairness.
The reforms were designed to strengthen public education and reduce students' reliance on cram schools for academic success.
Of the 100 individuals referred to prosecutors, 72 were schoolteachers, three were private education company officials and 11 were cram school instructors. Nine were heads of private education institutions, and five were from the Korea Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation, which issues the Suneung exam questions.
The police discovered that 47 schoolteachers had illegally created and sold Suneung-related questions between 2019 and 2023, earning up to 100 million won ($70,400) each. One teacher reportedly earned 260 million won from these transactions. Each question sold for 100,000 to 500,000 won and was typically sold in sets of 20 to 30.
Nineteen administrators and instructors from private education companies, including a CEO, were also referred to prosecutors for buying leaked questions.
Additionally, nine teachers, experienced in creating or reviewing Suneung questions, allegedly formed a “question-making team” and sold up to 2,946 questions, earning up to 620 million won.
The police also revealed cases of university admissions officials accepting up to 3.1 million won for providing guidance to high school seniors applying to university.
“The investigation was driven by the belief that the sale of Suneung questions had become a socially acceptable practice and aimed to eliminate collusion between teachers and private education companies,” the police said. “We will continue to target illegal practices and support educational reforms to ensure fairness in the college admissions process.”
lee.jungjoo@heraldcorp.com
