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Cheating scandal rocks S Korea
01/12/2004 15:00 - (SA)
Seoul - It isn't hardened crooks being paraded before the cameras, but a gang of teenagers accused of using mobile phone messages to cheat on college entrance exams who are the focus of a sensational scandal that has gripped South Korea.
Police said on Wednesday they were broadening their investigation of the scam, with at least 100 students alleged so far to have taken part in cheating rings during the annual College Scholastic Ability Test on November 17.
The numbers of suspects are expected to rise as investigators pore over more text messages stored in mobile phone companies' computers.
The uncovering of the scam has shocked South Koreans, whose Confucian upbringing emphasises good education in a country where the choice of university can determine the course of a person's life and career.
Calling for resignation
It is being taken so seriously that the parliamentary floor leader of the main opposition Grand National Party called this week for the resignation of Education Minister Ahn Byung-young. Leading newspapers have urged a major overhaul of the testing system.
"Before we make all our children into potential criminals, we have to conduct fundamental surgery on the college entrance system," the mass-circulation Dong-A Ilbo wrote in an editorial on Wednesday.
South Korean students go through rigorous after-school courses to prepare for the highly competitive exam, which is given only once a year.
Mothers pray for weeks in churches and temples for their children to do well, and most companies advise employees to come to work an hour later on exam day so students can get to test sites during rush hour. Students running late get rides on police motorcycles to speed through traffic.
The cheating ring allegedly involved smart students, called "players," who would message answers through mobile phone text messages to another student, who would then relay them to a group of test-takers. It's not yet clear what criminal charges the students could face, and some commentators have also called for leniency to avoid jailing the teens.
Under test rules, students are asked to voluntarily turn in their mobile phones to supervisors, but there are no strict checks to make sure they have complied.
South Korea is one of the world's most wired nations, and advanced mobile phones with text and picture messaging have become an indispensable accessory for much of the population. To prevent cheating, some have suggested jamming devices be installed in testing rooms.
In a separate investigation, police are looking into reports that several students got other people to take the test for them using false identity cards.
- AP
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