Last Year’s Proxy Examinees Could Be Investigated

An official of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA) said yes to the Grand National Party’s (GNP) question of whether the SMPA will investigate last year’s proxy examinees during their visit to the agency yesterday.

Another policeman said, “As the office of education did not hold any data, investigating this year’s proxy examinees only is our principle now. However, we cannot refuse to investigate if there is proof.”

According to Dong-A Ilbo’s research on this matter, out of 16 educational offices nationwide, seven offices, including Gyeonggi, Busan, Daegu, Gwangju, Jeju, and Chungbuk still have information related to last year’s Scholastic Aptitude Test. There were several leading educational offices such as Gyeongbuk Gumi and Gangwon Gangneung that kept their information for up to three years.

However, the Seoul, Incheon, Chungnam, Jeonnam, Gangwon, Daejeon, Gyeongnam, Jeonbuk, and Ulsan offices of education have destroyed last year’s files.

Therefore, if the police start their investigation on last year’s proxy exam, there will be a debate over whether it is fair to do so.

Cheongju Dongbu Police Station in Chungbuk asked for an arrest warrant for B (30 years old) for receiving CSAT answers from one of his students in his academy and sending them to 10 of his other pupils by the web-to-phone method, sending messages to mobiles through a computer. Police also filed for an arrest warrant for L (21 years old) who provided the answers to B.

A police officer said, “Looking at the fact that B offered cheating to third time examinee L two weeks before the exam and practiced, and the fact that B divided his 47 students’ exam ID numbers into odd and even from a day before the CSAT, it seems like B not only systematically conspired with L but with his pupils too.

Police, on hearing that B said that he could provide L’s tuition fee if it goes all well to L, is investigating the possibility of B receiving money from examinees.

Fake examinees are also confessing as the police’s search closes down on them.

Fake examinee Kim (20 years old, second grade of S University, Mapo, Seoul) and examinee Kim (20 years old, Jangan, Suwon) came to Suwon Jungbu Police Station to confess on December 1.

On the other hand, GNP lawmaker Won Hee-ryong “CSAT measures against cheating” special committee member, on visiting the SMPA yesterday said, “For a proper measure, a thorough understanding of the situation is needed. Therefore, further investigation is necessary even after the CSAT score computing date of December 6.”

Chief Superintendent General of SMPA Huh Joon-young replied, “Further research will be done if other suspicions arise, even after December 6.”

Although the police’s investigation is being carried out, its blind spots are seen as well. SMPA’s Cyber Crime unit said, “Out of 580 messages we filtered from the message list we received from three telecom companies at the end of last month, there were no numbers related to the Chungju academy president’s case.

L uses a telecom company mobile phone which only saves six bite (max. three messages, max. six numbers). This makes research harder.

Furthermore, in the Police’s requested seizure and search warrant, the symbol “?” and special letters were excluded from seizure and search candidates, making letter and number combined answers nearly impossible to find.

Therefore, clever criminals, which used letters or special letters like “12345/” instead of numbers to send answers are hard to catch.