Home > National > Social Affairs

Ex-principal gets reduced sentence for waiving fees, doctoring grades for son

Published: 29 Apr. 2025, 21:19

An image of a statue of Justitia, the goddess of justice [KOREA JOONGANG DAILY]

A former private school principal in Jinju, South Gyeongsang, who waived his son's tuition fees and pressured teachers to alter his son's exam results, had his sentence reduced on appeal.

On Tuesday, the Changwon District Court overturned the lower court’s sentence of two years in prison for a man in his 50s, referred to as the former principal, and instead sentenced him to two years in prison, suspended for four years.

The former principal had served as the head of a private school in Jinju from 2021 to 2023, during which he was accused of waiving about 18.1 million won ($12,600) in tuition and other student fees owed by his son, who attended the school. He was also charged with embezzling approximately 110 million won in educational subsidies, including after-school program funds and dormitory fees.

He allegedly instructed a teacher to open an after-school program, then fabricated attendance records as if students had participated. After receiving money in the school’s account, he allegedly had it transferred into his personal account.

The former principal was also accused of forcing a teacher to change incorrect answers to correct ones on his son’s exam after seeing that his son's scores were low. Although the teacher initially refused, persistent pressure and implied threats of disciplinary action eventually led the teacher to comply.

Despite being dismissed from his position in 2023 over a separate sexual misconduct case at the school, he reportedly continued to exert influence over school operations while carrying out these offenses.

The lower court had ruled that “the defendant committed the crimes by exploiting his dominant position as the school’s founder, de facto operator of the school foundation and principal,” and emphasized that “given his attempts to conceal the offenses, a prison sentence is unavoidable,” sentencing him to two years in prison.

However, the appellate court cited several factors in granting a suspended sentence, noting that “from December 2023 to March last year, the defendant repaid approximately 100 million won to the school foundation, effectively recovering much of the financial damages.”

The court also acknowledged that the defendant had previously contributed personal funds to the school’s operation and that he is now suffering from a serious illness, including a stroke, which significantly lowers the likelihood of reoffending.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY HYEON YE-SEUL [[email protected]]