Star Instructor Acquitted in Exam Question Bribery Case

A prominent South Korean math instructor, Woo Jin-hyun, has been acquitted of charges that he paid hundreds of millions of won to current teachers in exchange for questions for the national college entrance exam, known as the Suneung. The Seoul Central District Court ruled on June 26 that the transactions did not violate the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act.

Woo, a highly popular figure in the private tutoring industry, was accused of conspiring with a textbook development company employee to obtain math problems. Prosecutors alleged that between March 2020 and May 2023, Woo paid a total of 346 million won (approximately $250,000) to two teachers for these questions. He also allegedly transferred 75 million won to another teacher through his spouse's account.

The court's decision found that Woo's dealings with the teachers did not fall under the purview of illegal activities. The Improper Solicitation and Graft Act prohibits public officials and private school teachers from receiving more than 1 million won at once or 3 million won annually from the same person.

“

I was labeled as the No. 1 person in the private education cartel three years ago and have come this far, and it breaks my heart that the hard work of school teachers is being invalidated.

During the trial, Woo had maintained his innocence, expressing his distress at being labeled a perpetrator of private education cartels. He argued that his focus was on Suneung preparation, not internal school curriculum, and that the questions provided by teachers were unrelated to in-school assessments.

Prosecutors had requested a one-year prison sentence for Woo, the textbook employee, and the two teachers involved. Another teacher faced a summary indictment. The acquittal marks a significant outcome for Woo, who had faced considerable public scrutiny over the allegations.

“

I am not someone who teaches internal curriculum, and the problems created by the teachers were problems for the Suneung, unrelated to internal curriculum.