Hyun Woojin and Jo Jungshik Paid Up to 180 Million Won to Teachers for "Test Question Transactions"

Received Questions Over Four Years...
Hyun Woojin Transferred 420 Million Won
Jo Jungshik Obtained Questions in Advance from EBS Textbook Authors

Hyun Woojin (38), a top math instructor, reportedly paid up to approximately 180 million won per teacher in exchange for providing test questions. It has also been found that Jo Jungshik (43), a well-known English instructor, received unpublished EBS textbook questions in advance from members of the writing staff.

Hyun Woojin, Math Instructor at Megastudy. Megastudy Website

According to the indictment for violations of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act and other charges, which was submitted by the Ministry of Justice to Assemblyman Park Juntae of the People Power Party on January 14, Hyun Woojin, a math instructor at Megastudy, transferred a total of over 420 million won to three incumbent teachers between 2020 and 2023 in exchange for receiving math questions.

Prosecutors believe that Hyun committed these acts to gain a competitive edge over rival private education companies by obtaining questions from current teachers who have experience in teaching and in authoring EBS textbooks, thereby possessing strong question-writing capabilities.

Hyun transferred a total of over 167 million won to Teacher A, a current private high school teacher, from March 2020 to May 2023 in exchange for receiving math exam questions created by A. He also received questions from another private high school teacher, B, and transferred 179 million won. Additionally, from March 2020 to June 2023, he paid 75.3 million won to Teacher C, also a current teacher, via an account under the name of C's spouse, as compensation for producing math exam questions.

Jo Jungshik, a well-known English instructor at Megastudy, was found to have paid over 83 million won to incumbent teachers in exchange for receiving English questions from January 2021 to October 2022.

Prosecutors have also charged Jo with breach of trust, alleging that he obtained unpublished EBS textbooks from current teachers and gained financial benefits as a result.

According to the indictment, in January 2021, Jo asked D, who had established a company to produce his lecture materials, to obtain the "Suneung Teukgang" textbook file, which was not yet available on the market, in advance from Teacher E, a current teacher. D then received the file for the "2022 Suneung Teukgang English Reading Practice" textbook before its publication.

Teacher E, who participated as a member of the writing staff for the textbook, had signed an agreement and a confidentiality pledge stating that questions provided to EBS should not be provided to third parties, including other publishers. Nevertheless, E sent files such as the "2022 Suneung Teukgang (English Reading Practice) Answers" and "2022 Suneung Teukgang (English Reading Practice) Text" to D via KakaoTalk.

The indictment also details that Haiconcy, the parent company of the major entrance exam academy Sidae Injae, and Gangnam Daesung Research Institute, an affiliate of Gangnam Daesung Academy, engaged in transactions with teachers for test questions from 2020 to 2023. Sidae Injae reportedly paid over 700 million won, and Daesung Academy paid over 1.1 billion won to contracted teachers in exchange for receiving questions for mock college entrance exams and internal assessments.

Previously, on December 30, the 7th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office indicted a total of 46 individuals, including Hyun, Jo, and other private education company officials as well as former and current teachers, without detention on charges including violations of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act. In response, on December 31, Hyun posted a statement on the Megastudy homepage, asserting, "This was just one of several channels for sourcing questions, including open calls and external companies," and "There was no premium paid simply because they were teachers."

Hyun graduated from Stanford University with a degree in mathematics and began teaching in the Daechi-dong private education district in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, in 2010. He is known for having the largest number of online students across all tracks. Jo became widely recognized by the public through appearances on television shows such as tvN's "You Quiz on the Block" and Channel A's "Please Take Care of My Grades: Teachers 2."