20 People Including Brokers Who Committed Cheating on TOEIC and TEPS Caught for Sending Answers from Restroom

Brokers and clients who committed cheating on language tests such as TOEIC and TEPS by sending answers via mobile phones hidden in restrooms were caught by the police. It was investigated that the broker committed the crimes to earn gambling funds and living expenses.

On the 3rd, the Narcotics Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced that they had arrested broker A (29) and 20 clients on charges of obstruction of business.

A is suspected of committing cheating on English language tests such as TOEIC and TEPS 23 times from July 2021 to October last year, collecting fees of 3 to 5 million won per case. A committed the crimes by exploiting the fact that restroom use was allowed after the English listening test ended. During restroom breaks, answers were sent to clients via mobile phones hidden in advance or answer notes were concealed in the restroom and handed over, informing clients of the test answers.

A, who was a well-known language academy instructor, is known to have started the crimes to earn gambling funds and living expenses. He recruited job seekers and students in their 20s who wanted high scores on English language tests through social media advertisements, utilizing videos and lecture materials from the language academy where he appeared. It was confirmed that they requested cheating to obtain qualifications necessary for employment and other purposes. Furthermore, A meticulously prepared the crimes by meeting clients in advance to confirm the desired score range and explaining the method of delivering answers.

The investigation began last November when the Korea TOEIC Committee reported two suspected cheaters detected during the test process to the police. Through the investigation, the police identified A’s identity and secured client lists and transaction details of accounts under false names by executing search warrants. Additional clients were also identified and arrested sequentially.

A police official said, "We will continue to collect intelligence and conduct crackdowns on cheating related to foreign language tests such as English," and added, "We hope the public will actively report any cheating related to tests to the police."

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