So-called "star lecturers" Cho Jeong-sik, 43, and Hyun Woo-jin, 38, who paid an incumbent teacher with experience writing questions for the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) mock evaluation to obtain items for a private mock exam, have been sent to trial.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Criminal Division 7 (Director General Choi Tae-eun) said on the 30th that on the 29th it indicted without detention 46 people, including Cho, Hyun, private education company officials, and former and current teachers, on charges including violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act.
Cho and Hyun are accused of receiving questions from teachers who either authored EBS textbooks or served as members of the CSAT mock evaluation writing committee overseen by the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation (KICE).
Cho was found to have paid 80 million won to incumbent teachers and others from 2020 to 2023 to obtain questions. Cho also faces a charge of instigation of breach of duty for allegedly asking to be provided questions before EBS textbooks were published. During the same period, Hyun delivered a total of a little over 400 million won to three incumbent teachers on the condition that they produce questions.
Earlier, the Korean National Police Agency National Office of Investigation (NOI) in April sent to prosecutors 72 incumbent teachers, three private education corporate entities, and 11 lecturers implicated in the so-called "private education cartel."