"Entrance Exam Consulting Like a Drama"... Instructor Sentenced for Defrauding Parents of Hundreds of Millions

A private academy instructor accused of extorting hundreds of millions of won from parents under the pretext of college entrance consulting for their children was sentenced to prison in the first trial.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] A freelance academy instructor who extorted hundreds of millions of won from parents under the pretense of "fake college entrance consulting" was sentenced to prison in the first trial.

According to the court on the 4th, Im Gwangho, presiding judge of the Criminal Division 20 at the Seoul Central District Court, recently sentenced instructor A (40, male), who was indicted on charges of fraud, forgery of private documents, and use of forged private documents, to three years in prison. He was also ordered to pay 57 million won in compensation to the claimant.

Previously, A was prosecuted on charges of defrauding a total of 225 million won from the parents of a student living in Seocho-gu, Seoul, who was receiving math tutoring, by deceiving them from December 2020 to June of the following year, saying, "I belong to a famous college entrance consulting company and systematically manage children's grades, internal school records, and comprehensive student records like in a certain drama."

During this process, A was investigated for fabricating statements such as, "The only consulting company that can raise your child's midterm exam grade to 2.5 or send them to a prestigious university is the one I belong to. Other companies cannot guarantee grades or admission, but we have never failed once," and "Mothers in Building B sign contracts according to the conditions presented by the director."

He was also indicted on charges of forging documents as if he had signed a stock trading contract with a large private education company in 2017-2018 and defrauding a total of 120 million won from two victims, including colleagues, under the pretext of investment related to this.

The first trial found all of A's charges guilty. Judge Im stated, "He exploited trust with the victims to forge and use stock trading contracts, received money through absurd lies about stock investments, and took advantage of the desperate situation of parents with students preparing for college entrance exams to receive consulting fees under the name of a consulting company he was not affiliated with, defrauding a total of 345 million won."

He added, "Most of the money was spent on personal stock investments and debt repayments, and he repeatedly lied to delay repayment. He has not repaid most of the damages to date, showing bad criminal nature and circumstances. However, consideration was given to the fact that he admitted his wrongdoing and showed remorse."

A has appealed this ruling.