"I Did Not Participate in the Crime," Denies Involvement
A high school student, referred to as Ms. A, who took her final exams after viewing test papers that had been illicitly obtained by her mother and a temporary teacher working in collusion, has been booked without detention and questioned by police. Although Ms. A denied the allegations, stating, "I did not participate in the crime," the police believe there are no issues with forwarding the case for prosecution.
Temporary Teacher Who Illegally Entered School During Exam Period Undergoing Detention Hearing. Yonhap News
According to Yonhap News on July 16, Andong Police Station in North Gyeongsang Province booked Ms. A, an 18-year-old third-year high school student, without detention on charges of obstruction of business by fraudulent means. The police summoned Ms. A as a suspect and questioned her for approximately four hours starting at 2 p.m. that day.
Ms. A is suspected of having taken her final exams earlier this month after viewing test papers and answers that had been stolen from the school in advance by her former homeroom teacher, who was a temporary teacher, and her mother. Accompanied by her lawyer, Ms. A appeared at the police station and reportedly denied the allegations, stating, "I did not participate in the crime."
A police official stated, "Although Ms. A did not admit to the crime, there appear to be no issues with forwarding the case for prosecution." The official also said, "The exact number of times the mother and teacher stole the test papers is still under investigation and cannot be specified at this time."
The school reportedly decided internally the previous day to expel Ms. A. All of her exam scores to date will also be voided and recorded as zero. Ms. A is known to have consistently maintained top grades throughout high school. Education authorities plan to recalculate the entire school's academic records in accordance with guidelines if further evidence of Ms. A's exam misconduct emerges.
The incident came to light at around 1:20 a.m. on July 4, when Ms. A's mother, Ms. B (in her 40s), and the former temporary teacher, Ms. C (in her 30s), broke into the administrative office of a high school in Andong City to steal test papers. Their attempt was exposed when the school's security system was triggered. The vice principal, having identified the intruders through closed-circuit (CC) TV footage, reported them to the police on July 5. During the investigation, police confirmed that there had been several previous break-ins at the school by the same individuals.
Ms. C, the temporary teacher, worked at the school from March 2021 to February last year and served as Ms. A's homeroom teacher during her first year. She later worked as a temporary teacher at a high school in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.
It was also found that Mr. D (in his 30s, currently detained), the head of the school's administrative office, participated in the crime. Police determined that Mr. D, at Ms. C's request, deleted CCTV footage starting June 28 and arranged for Ms. C's fingerprints to be registered in the school's security system. Mr. D now faces additional charges of evidence destruction, in addition to aiding and abetting nighttime burglary and theft.
Ms. B and Ms. C also face additional charges of instructing the destruction of evidence, on top of obstruction of business by fraudulent means. Police also confirmed that Ms. B bribed the temporary teacher and conspired with her to destroy evidence.
The police have detained all three individuals: the teacher, the parent, and the school facility manager accused of aiding the break-in. A police official stated, "We will conduct a thorough investigation not only into the leak of test papers but also into any financial transactions among those involved and all aspects of the case."
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