Nationwide and Regional High School Rankings Processed... Mock Exam Score Leaks Cause Widespread Controversy

Nationwide Academic Achievement Test Scores, Schools, Names, and Genders Leaked
National and Regional Rankings Processed and Spread Online

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] The scores of second-year high school students from the nationwide unified academic assessment (mock exam) held last November have been leaked, causing a stir. The leaked data contained not only students' scores but also personal information such as names, affiliated schools, and gender.

Approximately 300,000 students nationwide took this exam. While the leakage of personal information is a serious issue, there are concerns that the leaked data could be misused for high school ranking and other purposes. Students who have inadvertently suffered damage are expressing anxiety and anger.

On the 20th, the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education announced that after receiving a report that the mock exam scores conducted by the provincial office last November were leaked due to hacking, they requested an investigation from the Cyber Investigation Team of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.

High school seniors at Ogeum High School in Songpa-gu, Seoul, are filling out answer sheets for the July mock exam.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

In fact, a file titled "Complete Individual Score Reports for 2nd Year Students" was circulated in a chat room on the messenger app Telegram. This file contained personal information such as names, schools, and gender of second-year high school students who took the exam from 15 metropolitan and provincial offices of education nationwide, excluding the Gyeongnam and Chungnam Offices of Education.

Additionally, the score reports included all details such as raw scores, standard scores, class rank, and school rank without omission. It was confirmed that resident registration numbers or mobile phone numbers were not included.

On online communities and blogs, reprocessed data based on the leaked information are also spreading. These files organize the ranking of scores for high schools nationwide or specific regional high schools.

The nationwide unified academic assessment is also called the "mock CSAT." Although separate from school grades, it is conducted to enhance students' practical adaptability before the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) and to test their abilities. In other words, it serves as an important measure to predict CSAT results.

The students affected by this leak are those who will be seniors (third-year students) this year. Both parents and students are expressing anxiety and anger over the leak occurring at such a sensitive time. On CSAT-related communities, comments such as "Is it true that the November mock exam scores were leaked? This is a total disaster and embarrassing," and "Can people who downloaded the leaked data be punished?" have been posted.

Meanwhile, the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education has decided to operate an emergency situation room to conduct an internal investigation into the cause of the leak, receive reports of damages, and prepare measures to prevent recurrence.

Lim Taehee, Superintendent of Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education, stated, "The nationwide unified academic assessment conducted last November was managed through the provincial office's own system due to the CSAT schedule," and added, "We will fully cooperate with the police regarding this matter, inspect and supplement our internal systems, and find and correct any faults to prevent such incidents from happening again."