The Ministry of Education said Thursday it is working with the National Institute for International Education to prevent leaks of the Test of Proficiency in Korean exam answers, after reports of Chinese brokers selling them online.
“The Education Ministry and NIIED are working at full capacity to ensure fairness and prevent malpractice surrounding the TOPIK exam, and we are taking this matter very seriously,” the ministry said in a statement.
The Korea Herald reported Wednesday that Chinese brokers were selling leaked questions, as well as offering remote test support through small earpieces, for up to $5,100, based on a promotional booklet obtained from one of the brokers.
Separately, local daily Chosun Ilbo reported Thursday that a Chinese student was caught cheating with a sheet of paper containing answers during the 105th TOPIK exam held on Sunday. Police were called, and NIIED said it would file a complaint against the student for obstruction of business.
Police said investigating the brokers has been difficult, as answers are distributed through anonymous accounts on Chinese online platforms.
The Korea Herald found that the questions were shared through a coordinated scheme in which earlier test-takers in regions such as Europe, Australia and Africa memorized exam questions and passed them to brokers for a fee. The brokers then resold the material to candidates in later time zones before the test began.
NIIED said candidates in Europe, Australia, Africa and the United States typically take the exam a day earlier.
TOPIK, administered by NIIED, is held multiple times a year and is widely used by Korean universities in admissions. Some institutions and programs also use it to meet graduation requirements.
According to education authorities, the exam was administered in 17 countries in 2025, and the number of test-takers had reached about 550,000 as of September.
NIIED said it would cooperate with the police investigation while stepping up efforts to crack down on additional forms of malpractice.
It also said it would review possible measures to allow students in all regions to take the exam on the same day.
“The Education Ministry and NIIED will introduce tougher fairness measures starting with the July exam, including reducing similarities between test papers across regions, in order to prevent answer leaks that exploit time differences between countries,” the ministry said.
seungku99@heraldcorp.com
