Star Math Instructor Hyun Woo-jin Found Not Guilty in First Trial Over Purchasing Exam Questions

[Anchor]

Star mathematics instructor Hyun Woo-jin, who was indicted on charges of paying active-duty school teachers to obtain questions for his study materials, has been found not guilty in his first trial. The court ruled that the money Hyun gave to the teachers constituted legitimate payments for private transactions, stating that moral responsibility and legal punishment must be distinguished.

Reporter Jang Hun-gyeong has the details.

[Reporter]

Hyun Woo-jin, widely known as a top-tier math instructor, paid approximately 160 million won and 170 million won respectively to two active-duty teachers between 2020 and 2023 to acquire test questions for use in his textbooks.

He also transferred 75 million won to the bank account of another teacher's spouse.

Prosecutors indicted Hyun, concluding that he violated the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, which prohibits public officials from receiving money or valuables exceeding 3 million won in a single year.

[Hyun Woo-jin / Math Instructor (This past April): (Do you still maintain your stance that the transaction of questions was normal?) ......]

However, the first-instance court at the Seoul Central District Court acquitted Hyun and the teachers.

The Graft Act stipulates that money or valuables provided for the fulfillment of obligations resulting from private transactions are not subject to prohibition. The court reasoned that the funds Hyun provided to the teachers were payments for buying and selling test questions—meaning they were "legitimate funds resulting from private transactions"—and therefore Hyun could not be deemed to have violated the Graft Act.

The court explained that "the law is the minimum requirement of morality," adding that "even if there are inappropriate aspects to the conduct of public officials, punishing all of them through criminal law is neither possible nor desirable."

Regardless of whether moral accountability can be pursued against active-duty teachers for engaging in question transactions for large sums of money, they cannot be punished for violating the Graft Act, according to the court.

[Eunji / Attorney for the Teachers: While it is not possible to judge all the moral aspects, many teachers have likely reflected and thought deeply about this through this incident.]

Meanwhile, the first trial hearing for star English instructor Cho Jung-shik, who was also indicted on charges of question transactions similar to Hyun, is scheduled for October 16.

(Camera Reporter: Yang Hyun-cheol | Video Editor: Choi Hye-young)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.