Prosecution Suspends Indictment of Yonsei University Professor for Lecturing on Questions from the Bar Exam Question Bank

by Jeong Donghoon

Published 31 Dec.2021 16:35(KST)

Signboard of Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] The investigation into a Yonsei University Law School professor accused of using modified questions from the bar exam question bank as his own teaching materials has been temporarily suspended.

According to the legal community on the 31st, the Criminal Division 5 of the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Jo Yong-hoo) placed Professor A of Yonsei University Law School, who is suspected of leaking official secrets, under a temporary suspension of prosecution the day before.

A temporary suspension of prosecution is a decision to temporarily halt or defer an investigation when expert evaluation is required during the investigation process, and then resume the investigation after reviewing the evaluation results.

Earlier, it was investigated that Professor A participated in creating questions for the Ministry of Justice's 2019 bar exam question bank and then conducted his class in the second semester of last year using modified related materials. He was found to have violated a pledge with the Ministry of Justice not to use questions that are identical, similar, or only partially modified from the questions he created in special lectures, mock exams, or tests at schools and academies.

Subsequently, in the legal community, controversy arose in January this year when some of the public law essay questions on the first day of the bar exam were identical to the mock exam explanation materials distributed in the 'Public Law Litigation Practice' class taught by Professor A. Following this, the civic group Judicial Exam Preparation Students Association filed a complaint against Professor A, and the police, recognizing the charges in June this year, referred the case to the prosecution.