A former contract teacher and a parent who were prosecuted for stealing exam papers and providing them to a female student have received reduced sentences on appeal.
The Daegu District Court's Criminal Division 4 (Presiding Judge Sung Ki-jun) on the 29th overturned the lower court's ruling and sentenced former contract teacher A, a 32-year-old woman, to 4 years and 4 months in prison on charges including special theft. The court also ordered the forfeiture of 31.5 million won. The court likewise overturned the lower court's ruling for parent B, a 50-year-old woman, and sentenced her to 3 years and 4 months in prison. The first trial had sentenced A to 5 years in prison and B to 4 years and 6 months, respectively.
The appellate court accepted the defendants' claims of unfair sentencing, stating, "Taking into account the sentences handed down in similar cases and the fact that they have repented and reflected on their wrongdoing through their detention, the lower court's sentencing was excessively heavy and thus unjust."
A was brought to trial on charges of providing illegal private tutoring to a student while serving as a contract teacher, conspiring with B to steal and provide school exam papers, and receiving 31.5 million won on 16 occasions. The investigation found that B stole regular written exam papers together with A and school staff in order to raise the academic grades of her daughter, who was attending a girls' high school. The student is known to have taken the exams after memorizing the questions and answers in advance, despite knowing they were leaked exam papers, and even rose to the top of the school.
The school where the incident occurred was a small school with few classes per grade, and the number of students who could receive top grades was limited, making grade competition intense, according to reports. The first trial court ruled, "The crime seriously damaged the school's exam administration and educational administration, and trust plummeted."
