Mother, Teacher Allegedly Involved as Korean High School Star Faces Exam Scandal
Nearly perfect scores in all subjects
In Japan, academic background is one factor that can shape a person’s life, but South Korea’s exam culture is extraordinarily intense—sometimes developing into a major social issue that shakes the nation.
An unprecedented cheating scandal occurred at a high school in Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do, in eastern South Korea. On July 23, the Andong Police sent to prosecution the mother (B, in her 40s) of a third-year high school student (A) and a part-time teacher (C, in her 30s) on suspicion of trespassing and theft. Since entering the school in March 2023, A had consistently been the top of her class for two and a half years, scoring nearly perfect marks in all subjects. However, it appears that her “top student” status was built on repeated cheating.
“C was A’s homeroom teacher when she enrolled. She had a pre-existing relationship with A’s mother, B. Until February 2024, when C was still a full-time teacher at the school, she illegally obtained test papers and passed them to B in advance. From March 2024, after becoming a part-time teacher, C and B entered the school without permission, stealing exam questions or photographing them with a smartphone.
According to police reports, C received a total of 20 million won (about 2.1 million yen) from B. The illicit acquisition of test papers reportedly happened more than ten times, with each reward amounting to several million won. A would memorize the questions and answers in advance, then take the tests and achieve nearly perfect scores every time,” said a Korean newspaper reporter.
The cheating was discovered in an unexpected way. On the night of July 4, shortly after 1 a.m., B and C entered the school as usual, entering passwords and codes. However, when they accessed the room where the exam papers were stored, a system malfunction triggered the alarm, and security officers apprehended them on the spot.
“On the same day that B and C were detained, A scored only 40 points on a math test. After her mother and former homeroom teacher were arrested, A was expelled. All her previous test scores, in which she had been top of the class, were nullified and recorded as zero,” the reporter added.
Your life is determined by your university
This incident is not just a matter of a single high school student’s family and teacher causing trouble. It raises major questions about South Korean society. Shinichi Hyun, editor-in-chief of Korea Report and an expert on the Korean Peninsula, explains:
“In South Korea, it’s no exaggeration to say that the university you attend determines your life. Prestigious companies and government offices have strong networks based on elite universities. As a result, the entrance exam system becomes intensely competitive, and both children and parents become desperate. Students attend better high schools and study at private academies late into the night. Only wealthy families can afford the enormous costs, making it nearly impossible for others to compete. A, who was expelled, reportedly came from an elite family with many doctors and had aimed to enter medical school herself.
Previously, South Korean university admissions were largely determined by academic tests alone, but criticisms that ‘it’s unfair to judge everything on a single exam’ have grown. In recent years, high school grades over three years have become increasingly important. This has led to frequent incidents where teachers and parents collude, leaking test questions on social media. The current case of alleged illegal acquisition of exam questions is likely just the tip of the iceberg. Unless the societal obsession with academic background is fundamentally addressed, similar incidents will continue.”
According to South Korea’s Board of Audit and Inspection, over the past six years approximately 250 teachers, in both public and private schools, have illegally leaked exam questions.