Former principal of Seoul vocational school acquitted again in admissions score-tampering case

The former principal of a Seoul vocational high school was acquitted for the second time Friday on charges of ordering staff to lower applicants' scores during the freshman admissions process. Allegations that he directed evaluators to dock points from a candidate on the grounds of "poor appearance" were not upheld.

Judge Heo Myeong-san of the Seoul Northern District Court's Third Criminal Appeals Division dismissed prosecutors' appeal and upheld the not-guilty verdict against the former principal, identified only as Han, and the school's former head of external affairs, identified only as Park, on charges of obstruction of business and forgery and use of official electronic records.

The court said the first trial had summoned and questioned multiple relevant witnesses and conducted a thorough review of the evidence. "As the lower court determined, it is difficult to conclude that the defendants obstructed business operations," the panel said.

The court added that while it harbored suspicions that the defendants' conduct, given their positions, had significantly influenced the admissions process, it could not conclude that actual work had been carried out in accordance with those instructions. "When in doubt, we have no choice but to rule in the defendants' favor," it said.

Han and Park were indicted on charges of instructing staff in November 2020 to lower the scores of certain applicants during the school's 2021 freshman admissions process. Prosecutors alleged the two had a candidate's personal statement score reduced and the applicant rejected on the grounds of "poor appearance," and had the scores of two other students lowered to place them in departments with unfilled enrollment quotas.

The first trial acknowledged that the two had shared their opinions with the evaluation committee but found insufficient direct evidence that they had ordered specific students' scores to be lowered. The court also recognized that some scores needed to be re-evaluated because an Excel file containing the previous year's portfolio data had been used, and that scores had been reviewed to fill vacancies in undersubscribed departments.

The court further noted that statements made to investigators and in court by the complainant, teachers and evaluators were partially inconsistent, and acquitted both defendants on all charges. Prosecutors appealed, but the appeals court reached the same conclusion.