Ministry of Education: Degrees of Foreign Students Who Cheated on TOPIK to Be Revoked, Scholarships to Be Clawed Back

The Ministry of Education and the National Institute for International Education announced that they plan to revoke the degrees of foreign students who obtained Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK) scores through illicit means, such as proxy testing or the use of high-tech equipment, and will take measures to recover any scholarships awarded to them.
The Ministry of Education distributed a press reference containing this information today in relation to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's briefing on the "arrest of a group of foreigners involved in TOPIK cheating."
The Ministry of Education emphasized, "Using this case as a turning point, we intend to deal sternly with those involved in cheating to ensure that TOPIK examinees realize they cannot gain any benefits from scores obtained through illicit acts and that they will face strict punishment."
It added, "We will notify the universities to which each cheater belongs regarding the disciplinary actions for TOPIK misconduct so that the universities can immediately take measures such as revoking degrees and clawing back scholarships for the individuals concerned."
According to the "Basic Operating Regulations for TOPIK," individuals who request a proxy test or take a test on behalf of someone else will have their test results invalidated and will be disqualified from taking the exam for four years.
The Ministry of Education and the National Institute for International Education also plan to prepare anti-cheating measures to secure the fairness and reliability of TOPIK.
In particular, they have decided to include plans to address the limitations of the examinee identity verification process.
In the short term, the ministry plans to strictly limit the types of valid identification accepted and raise the level of sanctions for those who take the exam using forged identification to be equivalent to those for proxy testing.
(Photo: Provided by Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.