National University Professor Given Suspended Prison Sentence for Leaking Past Exam Questions to Son

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] A national university professor who leaked past exam questions and handed them to his son attending the university where he worked was sentenced to a suspended prison term in the first trial.

On the 14th, Judge Lee Mi-kyung of the Seoul Northern District Court Criminal Division 9 sentenced Professor Lee of Seoul National University of Science and Technology, who was indicted without detention on charges including breach of official secrets, to 4 months in prison with a 1-year suspension.

Professor Lee was accused of leaking official secrets of a national university professor by receiving a lecture portfolio from the professor in charge of the class his son was taking in 2014, under the pretext of using it for an external lecture, and emailing it to his son.

The materials reportedly included sample answer sheets, midterm and final exam questions, and grading sheets containing the real names of students. In fact, 50 to 72% of the midterm and final exam questions in the four tests taken by Professor Lee’s son were similar to past exam questions, and his son is known to have received excellent grades.

The court recognized the intent to leak official secrets, stating, "The lecture portfolio contains sample answer sheets and other materials that are not disclosed to general students."

It added, "Disclosing such content only to a specific student not only undermines the fairness of the exam but also raises concerns about damaging the trust in public education, making the crime particularly serious."

However, the court acquitted him of some charges of obstruction of official duties by deception, noting that there were differences between the actual exam questions and past questions, and although the topics were the same, they could not be considered identical exam questions.

This case first came to light during the 2018 National Assembly audit when then Liberty Korea Party lawmaker Kim Hyun-ah raised suspicions, and it was sometimes referred to as the "university version of the Sookmyung Girls' High School incident." It was also revealed that Professor Lee transferred his son to the same school and gave him A+ grades in eight courses he taught. The prosecution, upon request from the Ministry of Education, investigated and reviewed the transfer exam answers and course exam papers of Lee’s son but found no evidence of cheating or improper grading and dismissed the charges.

However, the prosecution found evidence that Professor Lee leaked lecture notes and exam questions from other professors to his son and indicted him in 2019. It is known that Professor Lee was subsequently suspended from his position by the university.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.