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High school English assessment answers leaked ahead of test

Published: 05 Jun. 2025, 15:45

High school students take a nationwide academic test at a school in Daegu on June 4. [YONHAP]

Answers to a nationwide academic assessment test for first-year high school students have allegedly been leaked to students via an online chat room, leading education offices across the country to request a police investigation.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said Thursday that all 17 provincial and metropolitan education offices jointly plan to request a police investigation into the suspected leak of English exam answers from the June nationwide academic assessment.

According to education officials, photos of some questions, answers and explanations from the English section of the assessment for first-year students — which was administered on Wednesday — were shared in an anonymous open chat room used by around 3,200 private institute instructors and others.

The materials were reportedly shared at around 12:30 p.m., approximately 40 minutes before the test began at 1:10 p.m. Officially, test materials are to be disclosed only after the examination ends.

Roughly 400,000 first-year and 410,000 second-year high school students sat for Wednesday’s assessment. The tests are organized on a rotating basis by the education offices of Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon and Busan, with the Seoul office overseeing overall administration. This month’s exam was prepared by the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education.

High school students take a nationwide academic test at a private cram school on June 4 in western Seoul. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

“The identity of those who comprised the chat room and distributed the answers, as well as the source of the leak, has not yet been confirmed,” the Seoul office said. “We will request a police investigation to take appropriate action against those involved and to consider measures to prevent this from happening again.”

The office added that, based on the results of the investigation, the relevant local education offices will take follow-up measures and strengthen test security.

The nationwide academic assessment, introduced in the 2002 academic year, does not affect school report card grades.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]