Ex-English teacher booked for providing answers to TOEIC test-takers for money

▲ These images of cheat sheets and Telegram communication are provided by the police. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

TOEIC test-cheating

Ex-English teacher booked for providing answers to TOEIC test-takers for money

SEOUL, Aug. 3 (Yonhap) -- A former English teacher has been booked for investigation for helping 19 people get good scores on English proficiency tests in exchange for money by taking the tests with them and providing them with answers during a toilet break, police said Thursday.

The 29-year-old former English teacher was accused of secretly providing test answers to the 19 takers of the TOEIC and TEPS English tests in exchange for 3 million won-5 million won (US$2,314-US$3,857) per person per test on 23 occasions between July 2021 and October last year.

The suspect, who graduated from a U.S. university, attracted the clients via online advertisements, and all of them have been booked for investigation on charges of business obstruction, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.

The main suspect allegedly took the tests himself alongside his clients, wrote down the test answers on a piece of paper and handed it over to his clients at the test site's restroom in person or via a mobile phone during the exam.

The suspects took advantage of the test supervision rule that allows test-takers to use the toilet during the exam and hid their mobile phones inside the toilet in advance.

According to the police, the English teacher had worked at a famous language education institution. After quitting his job, he began to plot the crime to earn money for living and gambling, the police said.

His clients were mostly students or jobseekers in their 20s, and he provided them with customized cheat sheets that allowed them to receive the test scores that they wanted, the police said.

(END)

(C) Yonhap News Agency. All Rights Reserved