Jo Jung-sik Under Investigation for Purchasing Exam Questions

Jo Jung-sik (조정식), a prominent English instructor aged 42, has been sent to the prosecution for allegedly paying millions of won to current teachers to acquire mock exam questions for private academies. This revelation comes after Jo faced backlash for selling a private mock exam that included a passage identical to question 23 from the 2023 College Scholastic Ability Test (수능).

According to investigative media outlet Sherlock, the Board of Audit and Inspection discovered that Jo purchased questions for high school senior mock exams from 21 active teachers. He was sent to the prosecution on charges of violating the Anti-Corruption Act and obstruction of business on May 17.

One teacher, referred to as Teacher A, who has been writing EBS (Educational Broadcasting System) materials since 2009, reportedly received a total of 58 million won from Jo between January 2021 and October 2023 for providing these questions. Other teachers involved in the transactions also had experience in creating EBS materials and questions for the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education's national assessments.

The controversy surrounding Jo's question transactions began with the November 2022 CSAT, where the English section's question 23 featured a passage from 'Too Much Information (TMI)' by Cass Sunstein, a Harvard Law School professor. Following the exam, claims emerged in educational communities that the passage was nearly identical to one provided in Jo's private mock exam, with only one sentence differing. Comments on Jo's Instagram included remarks like, "I was thrilled to see the same passage on the exam" and "I can't believe the teacher's pinpoint accuracy."

Over five days, the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation received over 100 objections regarding the exam. Applicants argued that students who had previously solved Jo's mock exam and attended his explanation lectures had an unfair advantage.

In response, the Ministry of Education requested an investigation into Jo and others, while the Board of Audit and Inspection initiated its own inquiry. The Board reported that Jo obtained the questions through connections with other teachers who were familiar with the original author of the TMI passage, leading to the creation of a mock exam that accurately reflected the CSAT questions.

Additionally, the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation failed to adequately verify the mock exams, not purchasing Jo's materials without reasonable justification, which allowed the questions to slip through. They did not review the objections and dismissed the issue of identical passages as mere coincidence.

On May 17, the National Investigation Headquarters of the National Police Agency sent 72 current teachers involved in the question transactions to the prosecution, along with three private education companies and 11 academy instructors. However, Jo's legal representatives stated to Sherlock that they do not acknowledge the allegations of question transactions.

Jo is currently a leading English instructor at MegaStudy and appears on Channel A's 'Please Help My Grades: Teachers Season 2.' He is expected to attend an interview for the program scheduled for June 13 without any changes.