Ministry of Education "Strict Action Against Private Education Cartel... Strong Disciplinary Measures for Teachers Involved in 'Question Trading'"

Board of Audit and Inspection Announces Results of 'Private Education Cartel' Audit
Ministry of Education: "Continuous Implementation of System Improvements"

The Board of Audit and Inspection requested police investigations into 56 individuals, including teachers and private academy officials, following its audit of the 'Private Education Cartel,' while the Ministry of Education announced a strict response policy.

On the 11th, the Ministry of Education stated, "We have actively cooperated with the Board of Audit and Inspection's audit so far, and once the audit results are officially notified, we plan to strictly and promptly take measures such as disciplinary actions against the relevant teachers." It added, "Along with this, we will continuously implement institutional improvements to strengthen the fairness of the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT)."

On the same day in the afternoon, the Board of Audit and Inspection announced that as a result of the audit conducted from September to November last year on the 'Work Status Check Related to Teachers' Participation in the Private Education Market,' it requested police investigations into 56 individuals, including teachers and private academy officials, on charges such as violation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, obstruction of business, and breach of trust. This number is about 30 more than the 22 individuals for whom the Ministry of Education had requested investigations last year.

The audit revealed that in 2022, an English passage from a private mock exam by a famous instructor was used as question number 23 in that year's CSAT, involving private academy instructors, teachers, exam question setters, and the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation (KICE). Additionally, it was uncovered that teachers who participated as reviewers for the CSAT and mock evaluations formed an 'item supply organization' to create mock exam questions and sold them to private education companies and academy instructors.

The Ministry of Education emphasized that it plans to strongly demand disciplinary actions from the relevant education offices against teachers found to have committed serious misconduct, such as trading exam questions with private education companies, based on the Board of Audit and Inspection's results. The 'Guidelines for Permission of Concurrent Positions for Teachers,' established by the Ministry in December last year, specify the scope of prohibited concurrent positions and permission criteria to prevent teachers from engaging in profit-making activities in collusion with private education companies. Furthermore, the Ministry conducts biannual investigations into violations of concurrent position permissions.

The standards for punishing teacher misconduct will also be strengthened. A Ministry of Education official said, "We are promoting amendments to the Education Officials Act to extend the statute of limitations for disciplinary actions against teachers involved in admission corruption from the current 3 years to 10 years," adding, "We also plan to issue a legislative notice in March for the amendment of the 'Regulations on Disciplinary Measures for Education Officials,' which will establish sentencing standards for admission-related misconduct, enabling a stricter response."

Moreover, regarding the duplication of private mock exam passages in the CSAT, the Ministry announced that it will prepare measures to enhance the fairness of CSAT question setting and apply them starting from the June mock evaluation for the 2025 academic year.

In response to multiple confirmed cases of current admissions officers violating existing laws by taking employment at private education companies, the Ministry of Education stated, "We will work to ensure the effectiveness of regulations." Additionally, the Ministry explained that it plans to faithfully implement the Board of Audit and Inspection's recommendations for institutional improvements, including expanding the scope of employment restrictions for former and current admissions officers and establishing sanction regulations through amendments to related laws.