Leak of Academic Assessment and Mock Exam Papers... 46 Current Teachers and Instructors Apprehended

Current high school teachers and major private academy instructors who leaked questions from the National Joint Academic Assessment and the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) mock exams before the official test dates have been apprehended in large numbers through a police investigation.

Photo related to mock exam question papers. Not directly related to the article. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

On January 22, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Anti-Corruption Investigation Unit announced that a total of 46 individuals-including three current high school teachers and 43 academy instructors-have been referred for prosecution without detention on charges of violating the Official Secrets Act and the Higher Education Act.

According to the police, Teacher A, who is currently employed at a high school, and Instructor B, an academy instructor, are graduate school alumni. They are accused of unlawfully opening sealed envelopes containing the National Joint Academic Assessment and CSAT mock exam mathematics questions on four separate occasions between April 2022 and June of last year, so that B could use the materials in academy classes.

During the investigation into Teacher A, the police identified additional large-scale participants in the leak. It was found that all 46 individuals had leaked CSAT mock exam questions in advance on 14 occasions between June 2019 and June of last year for use as academy teaching materials, among other purposes. Under current law, CSAT mock exam questions are required to be released only after the end of each test session for test-takers with severe visual impairments.

The police pointed out that this incident undermined the core function of public education. The National Joint Academic Assessment serves as foundational data for measuring high school students’ academic achievement and improving their adaptability to the CSAT, while the CSAT mock exams are crucial for adjusting the actual CSAT’s difficulty and assessing students’ abilities. These key exams, which form the basis for national education policy, were exploited for the personal gain of certain instructors and teachers. Additionally, oversight and management of the exam questions, answer sheets, and explanations were found to be inadequate.

A police official stated, “We will continue to work closely with the Ministry of Education and other relevant agencies to support the development of fair system improvement measures,” adding, “We will continue to respond strictly to illegal acts that undermine fairness in education.”