Academies Claiming "Suneung Exam Committee" Status... Government's Crackdown Warning Sparks High Tension

Crackdown on False Advertising Related to Killer Question Accuracy Rates

The government has announced that it will intensively crack down on the irregularities of private academies related to the 'private education cartel,' causing a stir in the academy community.

The appearance of the academy district in Daechi-dong
Photo by Moon Ho-nam

On the 21st, the Ministry of Education announced a 'Plan to Enhance Public Education' and stated regarding the recently controversial CSAT killer questions, "From the 22nd, a two-week intensive reporting period will be operated to address the private education interest cartel, false and exaggerated advertisements, and other irregularities of private academies."

Typically, the crackdown on academies is conducted by about five officials from the academy teams of the Ministry of Education, Metropolitan and Provincial Offices of Education, and Education Support Offices, who make unannounced visits to reported academies to check for violations of the Private Academy Act and impose penalty points depending on the case.

Until recently, many academies have promoted themselves using phrases such as "mock exams directly created by CSAT question setters."

This can be seen as a violation of the confidentiality agreement by the CSAT question setters; however, before 2016, there were no penalty provisions for breaching the agreement, and even after such provisions were introduced, management was not thorough, so there have been no cases of illegal sanctions.

However, with the president directly targeting the 'private education cartel,' the Ministry of Education has also announced that it will conduct a large-scale crackdown including false and exaggerated advertisements about entrance exam results and killer question hit rates.

Academy officials are reportedly tense, saying that the scope of matters defined as illegal is unclear.

An entrance exam industry insider said, "The criticisms could become more detailed, and there are even talks of tax investigations on top instructors," adding, "Since it is unclear what the private education cartel means, it is hard to predict the crackdown."

With the CSAT five months away, various entrance exam briefings should be actively held, but due to the confusing atmosphere, some in Daechi-dong have suggested not holding briefings, according to insiders.

The unsettled atmosphere in the academy community is also observed on the social media of famous 'top instructors.'

Famous Korean history instructor Lee Daji posted on social media on the 17th, "Each school and teacher teaches very differently, and some subjects are not even offered..." criticizing President Yoon's remark to create CSAT questions based on what is taught in school classes. After the controversy grew, it is reported that the post was deleted.

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