By Kim Rahn
Police are investigating two professors of surgery at a college in Busan for their alleged leaking of examination questions to their students last year.
It is said that the Korean Surgical Society learned about this at the time but didn’t report it to the Korean Medical Association (KMA), the administer of the test, for about a year.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Tuesday, the two unidentified professors were among those who made up the questions for the nationwide exam to award medical licenses in January last year.
They leaked the questions to one of their resident students, and the resident shared the questions with three others. Thanks to the pre-notice, the residents swept the top rankings of the test.
But suspicions arose because of the high scores by students from one specific college. Despite their high scores in the written exam, they didn’t do well in practical exams to test their medical skill.
The surgical society inquired if the professors leaked the questions. Following the inspection, one of the professors admitted to it and tendered his resignation. Then the case was closed, without reporting it to the KMA.
The case resurfaced earlier this year as the professor applied for reinstatement. Anonymous letters about the irregularity were sent to the Board of Audit and Inspection and the National Health Personnel Licensing Examination Board. The ministry and the association visited Busan and interviewed the two professors last week.
The society and the association also filed a complaint against the professors with police for interference with their business. In the complaint, the society said it suspects the professors may have received money from the students.
If the professors are found guilty, their medical specialist licenses will be either suspended or annulled according to gravity of their sentences. The residents’ licenses will be also annulled and they will be banned from taking the test again for two years.
Ministry officials said the government will take stern action against those found to be involved in the scam.“This is the first time that questions of the exam have been leaked. If their wrongdoing is confirmed, we will refer them to the prosecution and revoke all of their medical licenses,” a ministry official said.