High-earning lecturers slamming Yoon's mention of CSAT face chilly reaction

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Critics say lecturers benefit from abnormally high private education expenses

By Jun Ji-hye

Several “star lecturers” offering private education to students preparing for the state-administered College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) have criticized President Yoon Suk Yeol's order to exclude extremely difficult “killer” questions from the annual college entrance exam.

They said students who have already established their study plans ahead of the exam in November will be disadvantaged by the president's sudden order that could influence the difficulty level of the CSAT.

But many have called into question the appropriateness of the high-earning lecturers' criticism against the president's instruction aimed at reducing abnormally high private education expenses.

The lecturers facing stern reactions have been the main beneficiaries of these “killer” questions that refer to extremely difficult questions not covered by public education, such as nonliterary questions at the college level, which are out of the reach of students not privately tutored.

Hyun Woo-jin, a popular lecturer teaching mathematics at cram schools, shared a related news article on Instagram and wrote that only students will be disadvantaged.

Hyun Woo-jin's Instagram / Captured from Instagram

“Now, everything is uncertain regarding a mock test scheduled for September and the CSAT in November,” he wrote. “I want to call on the government to create accurate guidelines.”

Lee Da-ji who teaches history also wrote on Instagram that the difficulty level of the mock test in September has become more uncertain.

Lee Won-joon who teaches Korean language wrote, “If there is no better alternative, hasty intervention will not be a solution but become the cause of a problem.”

Although Yoon's mention of the CSAT has caused enormous confusion among many students and parents, the lecturers' criticism was not welcomed by much of the public, with online commentators leaving cynical comments on the lecturers' YouTube channels.

Such comments included, “I could not find any problems in the president's instruction to exclude what is not taught at schools from the annual exam,” and “Are you criticizing the instruction for fear that you will lose your job?”

Some said the high-earning lecturers' display of affluence on social media has apparently roused public antipathy, because their accumulated wealth is built out of the country's abnormal educational environment and consequent excessive demand for private education.

For example, Hyun said he paid 13 billion won ($10 million) in income taxes in 2017. This indicated he earns some 20 billion won a year, higher than the annual salary of football star Son Heung-min who reportedly earned some 17.7 billion won this year.

One person left a comment on a YouTube channel run by one of the lecturers, “You bought a luxurious car and live in a luxurious house and display your wealth. You should think about whether you are a real educator.”

According to the presidential office, Yoon stressed that including “killer” questions on the CSAT is “inappropriate” and “unfair” and amounts to “playing tricks” on children.

Following this, the Ministry of Education and the ruling People Power Party agreed during a policy consultation meeting to exclude material not taught in public education from this year's exam questions.

Regarding the criticism that the government is causing confusion among students and parents, the government and the ruling party maintained that Yoon's remarks were aimed at establishing a “fair CSAT” and reducing the burden of private education expenses.

They also stressed that the president's instruction was not made hastily, saying that the government set such a policy goal in March.