Professor ran unregistered hagwon in Gangnam, kept teaching after police referral

A man who presented himself as a mentor to aspiring food service entrepreneurs is under investigation for allegedly running an unregistered hagwon across the Gangnam area of Seoul. Education authorities referred the case to police, and it was forwarded to prosecutors — yet the classes continued.

The Seoul Suseo Police Station investigated the suspect, identified only as Professor A, on charges of violating the Act on the Establishment and Operation of Hagwons and Private Tutoring. Concluding that the charges were substantiated, police sent the case to prosecutors in late May. A, however, kept running classes and has since been reported to police again on the same charges.

A is a professor in a food service management department at a cyber university. He has been introduced in media as a food service startup expert, has authored several books and has been active on the lecture circuit.

He ran his own hagwon without going through the proper legal procedures, doing so from at least 2023. Under the Hagwon Act, anyone wishing to operate a hagwon must register with the superintendent of the relevant district education office by submitting the founder's personal details, the curriculum, a list of instructors, tuition fees, and information on the facility and equipment. A did not comply with these requirements, and in March the Gangnam-Seocho District Office of Education conducted an on-site inspection and found evidence of improper operations.

An official from the district education office said the agency confirmed that more than 50 students were attending classes and that the curriculum had been running for more than a year, which prompted the police complaint. A is said to have agreed to the closure of the facility at the time of the inspection.

Under the Hagwon Act, an operation is classified as a hagwon if it enrolls 10 or more students and runs a curriculum lasting at least one month. A recruited more than 50 students and offered food service-related instruction through a program lasting more than a year, all without registering as a hagwon. The Gangnam-Seocho District Office of Education filed a complaint with police, who investigated the circumstances and forwarded the case to prosecutors in late May with a recommendation for indictment.

Even so, A continued to operate his hagwon. One student, upon learning of the situation, filed an additional police complaint against him. In the complaint, the student wrote: "To conceal the true nature of his hagwon business, A disguised the operation as a club under a different name, rented a location somewhere in Gangnam, and has been continuing to teach approximately 100 students just as before."

A reportedly announced the suspension of classes only after a tax office field audit of his hagwon was scheduled for late June. According to the complainant, A notified students that he would halt classes for the time being and resume in August. Tuition at the hagwon reportedly reached as much as 2.2 million won ($1,480) per course. One student paid around 11 million won together with their spouse to attend the program.

A's side has said only that the complaint was filed with "malicious intent." Attempts to reach A directly by phone and text message on multiple occasions went unanswered.

The Suseo Police Station plans to coordinate a schedule for further questioning of A and to continue its investigation into the alleged Hagwon Act violations.