[Summary] Park Gwang-il Arrested on Comment Manipulation Charges... Daesung MyMac "Apologies for Disruption in Lecture Services"

Hundreds of IDs Created Over 2 Years and Competitor Instructors Defamed
Mr. Park Arrested, Causing Disruption in Lectures
Daesung MyMac "Apologizes to Students Currently Enrolled"

Kwangil Park, a Korean language instructor at 'Daesung MyMac,' who was arrested on charges of defaming competing instructors through organized comment manipulation / Photo by Daesung MyMac homepage capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Park Kwang-il, a lecturer known as a so-called 'top instructor' in the Korean language subject of the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), was arrested on charges of defaming competing instructors through a comment manipulation company. As a result, the online lectures of 'Daesung MyMac,' to which Park belongs, have also been disrupted. The company stated, "We sincerely apologize to all students who were taking Park's courses."

Han Seong-jin, the judge in charge of warrants at the Suwon District Court Seongnam Branch, held a warrant review hearing on the 18th for Park, who is accused of obstruction of business and defamation, and issued an arrest warrant, citing "concerns about evidence destruction and flight risk." Two other individuals involved in comment manipulation, including employees of the comment manipulation company operated by Park, were also arrested on the same charges.

Park and the two others are accused of creating hundreds of IDs over a period of about two years from July 2017 to June 2019 and posting defamatory comments against instructors from competing companies. To avoid IP tracking, they also established a Virtual Private Network (VPN) in the Philippines to access the internet via a proxy.

When this comment manipulation controversy first surfaced in June 2019, Park issued a statement saying, "I have committed a great wrong against the examinees. Everything is solely my responsibility," but also stated, "I will complete the lectures for the 2020 CSAT."

Afterward, it was confirmed that Park stopped in-person lectures but continued to conduct online lectures.

Mr. Park posted an apology in 2019 when the comment manipulation controversy first arose, stating, "I will finish the lectures by the CSAT to prevent confusion among examinees." / Photo by Internet Community Capture

However, with Park's arrest, the online lectures he had been conducting have also been disrupted. Daesung MyMac decided to suspend the provision of content created by Park until the final verdict of his case is reached, blocking applications for his lectures and materials. As a result, students who had been taking Park's courses have also suffered damages.

In fact, after news of Park's arrest became known, students posted protest messages on Daesung MyMac's internal Park Kwang-il page and Q&A boards. Complaints also continued on student-related internet communities and social networking services (SNS).

On June 19, on 'Orbi,' a student information sharing community, protest posts such as "I went to complain about Park Kwang-il's issues," "Suddenly became a 'Park Kwang-il refugee,'" and "What lectures should I take from now on?" flooded in.

Daesung MyMac's apology posted on the official website on the 19th. / Photo by Daesung MyMac capture

Amid growing controversy, Daesung MyMac issued an apology on its official website on the same day, stating that "there has been a disruption in lectures."

In the apology, Daesung MyMac said, "Due to the arrest investigation of Korean language instructor Park Kwang-il in connection with the June 2019 incident, there has been a disruption in the normal provision of the 2022 Hunnyundogam lectures. We sincerely apologize to all students who were studying with Park. Today, we will announce Daesung MyMac's position and countermeasures."

Daesung MyMac decided to unconditionally refund the costs of lectures and materials to students who suffered damages due to Park's arrest. Additionally, students who purchased the '19 Pass,' which allows access to all Daesung MyMac lectures including Park's courses, will be provided with all 10 sessions of the 'Igam Mock Test' free of charge.