As controversy spread over allegations that the Prosecutorial Practice 1 exam questions were leaked in advance only to a specific Law School, the Ministry of Justice decided to retake the exam at 7 p.m. on the 13th. The ministry judged the matter to be a serious issue that undermined the fairness of evaluation.
An official at the Ministry of Justice said on the 1st, "We decided to hold the final exam for Prosecutorial Practice 1 on the 13th." The exam length, the scope of precedents, the scope and score distribution of special criminal laws, and other precautions are the same as the original exam. Those who do not take either the exam on the 29th of last month or the retest on the 13th will receive an F. Also, those who skip the retest will receive a lower score than those who take it.
Earlier in the morning, the Ministry of Justice said, "In connection with the Prosecutorial Practice 1 final exam administered on the 29th of last month, during a class at a specific school before the exam date, while the class on the 'guidelines on the names of offenses to be stated in indictments and non-indictment decisions' was underway—beyond the agreed scope of the exam—offense names marked as important, such as shaded, were presented to students, and we confirmed that some were actually included in the questions."
Prosecutorial Practice 1 is an important course for Law School students to obtain eligibility to take the next step in prosecutor selection, the "advanced prosecutorial practice practicum." Six to seven sitting prosecutors teach by region at 25 Law Schools nationwide and administer the exam at the same time.
At the center of the controversy is Prosecutor An Mi-hyeon of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, who lectures at the Law Schools of Sungkyunkwan University, Hanyang University, and Kangwon National University. In the class immediately before the exam on the 29th of last month, An displayed materials on guidelines for the names of offenses to be stated in indictments and non-indictment decisions and showed a document in which some offense names were highlighted in yellow marker.
Then, on Law School student communities and elsewhere, claims appeared that "the highlighted offense names were asked on the test." Posts also said that "the highlights shown during the lecture were effectively hints." The fallout grew as the student council association, made up of the student presidents of 25 Law Schools nationwide, discussed response measures.
An official at the Ministry of Justice said, "Prosecutors serving as adjunct professors who lecture at Law Schools nationwide coordinate to prepare lecture plans to deliver uniform instruction at all schools," adding, "In this case, the lecture exceeded the agreed scope, and we decided to hold a retest because we judged it could significantly affect the fairness of evaluation."
Meanwhile, An was disciplined in 2018 after alleging "external pressure on the probe into hiring corruption at Kangwon Land," and received the "Righteous Person Award" from People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) the same year. In a broadcast interview on the 12th of last month, An introduced herself as an anti-Yoon (anti-Yoon Seok-yeol) prosecutor. At the National Assembly audit last month, An also clashed with lawmakers from the Democratic Party of Korea over supplemental investigative authority following the abolition of the prosecution service.