English instructor Jo Jeong-sik, known as a "No. 1" College Scholastic Ability Test instructor, completely denied the charges at the first court proceeding after being indicted on suspicion of receiving test-related questions and textbook files from current teachers and paying about 80 million won in return.
The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 4 single-judge panel (Presiding Judge Park Kang-gyun) held the first preparatory hearing on the 3rd for four people, including Jo, who were indicted on charges of violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act and abetting breach of duty. Because a preparatory hearing is a procedure to organize the issues and evidence before a full trial, defendants are not required to appear, and Jo did not come to court that day.
Jo's side denied all charges. The attorney said, "This was a paid transaction conducted at market prices and constitutes a legitimate transaction." The other defendants sent to trial with Jo also denied the charges on the same grounds.
Jo's side also requested an order for clarification to the prosecution, arguing that the indictment is vague. The indictment states that around January 2021, at an unknown location, Jo called a person surnamed Kim and proposed obtaining EBS textbook files, but the specific time and place are not specified.
The court made the central issue of the case clear in the courtroom that day. Presiding Judge Park said, "Ultimately, the key part is the scope of legitimate title," adding, "This does not block all private transactions, and within a certain scope, the giving and receiving under a legitimate title is exceptionally recognized; it requires deliberation on how to view that scope." Park then said it is also necessary to examine the legislative intent of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, and asked both the prosecution and the defendants to set out their positions on the matter.
Prosecutors believe that in December 2020 Jo instructed a person surnamed Kim, an employee of a company producing Jo's course materials, to obtain English questions for class from current teachers. Kim is also accused of agreeing with current teachers to provide money for question development. Prosecutors say that from January 2021 to October 2022, Kim paid a total of 83.52 million won to two current teachers over 67 occasions in return for drafting questions.
Jo was also charged with abetting breach of duty for allegedly obtaining in advance, through a current teacher in January 2021, the EBS textbook files for the 2022 academic year that would be published that year, thereby causing property damage to EBS.
The first trial in the case of instructor Hyun Woo-jin, known as a "No. 1" in mathematics and facing the same charges, is scheduled for the 24th.