A parent and a contract teacher who broke into a high school to steal exam papers for several years have been sentenced to prison.
Contract teacher receives similar sentence ... Teenage daughter given a suspended sentence of 2 years
According to legal sources on the 14th, the court sentenced A (a mother in her 40s) to 4 years and 6 months and B (a teacher in his 30s) to 5 years in prison on charges of aggravated theft and trespassing, alongside forfeiture of 31.5 million KRW.
The court also sentenced C (the head of school administrative office in his 30s) to 1 year and 6 months in prison for aiding the crimes. D (A's daughter), who was charged with obstruction of business by memorizing questions and answers despite knowing they were stolen, was sentenced to 1 year in prison with a 2-year suspension.
A was brought for trial for allegedly worked together with B, who had previously been her daughter's homeroom teacher, to break into a high school in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, where her daughter was enrolled, to steal exam papers.
They reportedly broke into the school premises 11 times in total and stole midterm and final exam papers on 7 separate occasions.
During this process, B received a total of 31.5 million KRW from A over 16 transactions. It was found that D used the leaked exam papers to study in advance, allowing her to never lost her rank as the #1 student in her school.
THe crimes were discovered on July 4 of last year during the finals week when a private security alarm was triggered.
Court: "This has caused deep discouragement to students who had worked diligently and honestly"
Prosecutors had requested sentences of 8 years in prison for A and 7 years in prison for B, alongside forfeiture of 31.5 million KRW. They also requested sentences of 3 years in prison for C, and a sentence of 2-3 years for D.
The court noted, "This is a serious incident that fundamentally undermined trust in education. The defendants violated the students' right to learn and their opportunity to be evaluated fairly. This has caused deep frustration and anger among students and parents who worked hard for entrance exams, and also damaged the professional pride of many faculty members who work with a sense of duty."
The court further stated, "Defendant A even destroyed her phone, which was one of the evidences. The faculty members of the school are petitioning for severe punishment."
However, the court explained the factors behind the sentences, saying, "The teachers and others involved have confessed to their crimes, and the parent deposited 100 million KRW for the school."
1. [+1,468][-10] A classic case of parents ruining their child's future
2. [+1,215][-13] The daughter can now forget about working at public enterprises or becoming a civil servant now... Since she has a criminal record.
3. [+1,083][-10] This kind of parent is the ultimate evil to the society... Not to mention that she has completely wrecked her own family.
4. [+58][-0] Turning her own child into a criminal because of her own greed... Seriously, what do you gain from raising your child like this??? Do you think your daughter will be devoted to you for the rest of her life?? Tsk tsk
5. [+49][-0] This is a representative case of parental love going in the wrong direction. I hope this becomes a cautionary example for parents who believe they should do absolutely anything for their child.
