By Bahk Eun-ji
Eight private academies, providing Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) tutoring, have had their licenses revoked education authorities said Wednesday.
The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (SMOE) and the Ministry of Education said they found 88 rule violations at 39 out of 61 private institutes providing SAT classes in Gangnam.
The eight institutes shut down hired lecturers without checking for criminal records, or overcharged students.
The ministry and SMOE announced the result of its investigation of the academies located in Gangnam, following the College Board, which administers the SAT, cancelling the test in Korea in May and June following the leaks of test questions.
Asked whether they found any institutes responsible for the leaks, the authorities said four institutes were suspected of leaking questions.
“Of the eight institutes to be closed, three or four are suspected of having leaked questions. But we cannot disclose their names as a prosecution investigation is ongoing,” said Oh Seok-kyu, a director at the ministry.
The SMOE filed complaints with the prosecution against two other rule-breaking institutes.
Two out of eight academies that were referred to the prosecution provided lectures without proper registration as a SAT institute. They registered themselves as art or other types of institutes in a bid to evade taxes.
Those institutes will be barred from reopening businesses in other locations or under other names.
Four academies were suspended from giving lectures and 12 were slapped with a total of 28.5 million won in fines.
The SMOE said it will continue to inspect institutes until the end of August, the peak season when students studying abroad return home to prepare for the SAT.
It said it will request help from the National Tax Service to beef up punishment for those who evaded taxes.