Regulatory violations at hagwons and tutoring centers in Seoul, including illegal tuition hikes and hiring of unqualified instructors, have more than doubled over the past five years.
According to data submitted by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education to the office of Rep. Kim Jun-hyuk of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly's Education Committee, 1,636 violations were detected during inspections of hagwons and tutoring centers last year. This represents more than a twofold increase from 681 cases in 2021. The number of violations rose from 681 in 2021 to 917 in 2022, then to 1,423 in 2023, before reaching 1,416 in 2024 and climbing again last year.
The scale of inspections remained similar throughout the period. Annual inspections numbered 27,553 in 2021 and 27,958 last year, showing little change. While inspection frequency held steady, the growing number of violations suggests rule-breaking has become more common in the field.
Tuition-related violations were particularly prominent. Cases of collecting fees exceeding registered tuition rates rose from 18 in 2021 to 48 in 2025. Violations also persisted for failing to report tuition changes or not complying with refund regulations. When including additional charges collected under other pretexts such as textbook fees, mock exam fees, and materials fees, cost-related violations showed an overall upward trend.
Instructor management violations also expanded. Cases of hiring unqualified instructors or failing to conduct background checks for sex crimes and child abuse history more than doubled from approximately 180 in 2021 to 395 last year. This indicates that basic personnel management obligations are repeatedly going unfulfilled.
Total fines increased from 410 million won in 2021 to 740 million won last year. However, penalties often stopped at corrective orders or warnings, with stronger sanctions such as suspension of instruction or registration cancellation applied only in limited cases.
The education office plans to promote cost stability and ease the burden of private education expenses through special tuition inspections during the new school term. This year, from February 24 to March 3, intensive inspections were conducted at 720 hagwons and tutoring centers, focusing on excessive tuition collection, overcharging for miscellaneous expenses, textbook bundling practices, and false or exaggerated advertising.
"Excessive tuition collection and disguised increases through miscellaneous fees directly impact parents' financial burden, so we plan to continuously manage violations through intensive inspections at the start of the new school term," an education office official said. "We will strengthen on-site inspections to stabilize tuition operations and reduce the burden of private education expenses."