Key Facts
• July 4, 2025: A mother and part-time teacher broke into a school to steal exam papers.
• The school’s security system alerted authorities, leading to their arrest the next day.
• The student, ranked first in her school, scored 40 in math without stolen papers.
• Police revealed the teacher had tutored the student since 2020 and became her homeroom teacher in 2023.
• The teacher and mother stole exam papers since 2023, sharing them with the student.
• The mother paid the teacher over 21 million KRW (approx. $15,800) for the stolen papers.
• July 14, 2025: The school expelled the student and nullified all her previous grades.
• The mother and teacher were detained after a court issued arrest warrants.
• The student’s father is a doctor, and the mother was a school board member.
• Parents suspect the student’s top rank was entirely due to cheating.
Summary
A high school senior in Andong, South Korea, was expelled after her mother and a former part-time teacher were caught stealing exam papers. The student, previously ranked first in her school, scored only 40 in math when taking a test without the stolen materials. Investigations revealed the teacher had been tutoring the student since 2020 and began stealing exam papers in 2023, sharing them with the mother, who paid over 21 million KRW for the materials. The school nullified all the student’s grades and expelled her on July 14, 2025. Both the mother and teacher were detained following court-issued arrest warrants. The case has raised concerns about academic integrity and parental pressure in South Korea.
