Education platform Etoos issued a formal apology Monday after test-prep instructor Lee Do canceled remaining lectures three weeks before the 2027 college entrance exam and continued appearing on entertainment programs, drawing sharp criticism from enrolled students.
Etoos posted a notice on its official website titled "A message to Lee Do's students from Etoos," acknowledging that Lee had announced on Oct. 29 that he could not complete his remaining lectures due to health reasons. "We caused great concern to Lee Do's students at a critical time ahead of the college entrance exam," the company said.
The company added that it had coordinated with Lee on scheduling and provided support to keep the lectures running, but that the agreed schedule ultimately could not be kept due to circumstances on the instructor's end. "We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this has caused to your studies," it said.
Etoos also made private the online message board where criticism of Lee had accumulated, and said inquiries related to the courses would be handled individually through its customer center or one-on-one inquiry channels.
Earlier, Lee had announced in a handwritten letter on Oct. 29 that health problems would prevent completion of the remaining Korean geography and world geography lectures for this year's college entrance exam preparation.
"I put lectures before my health and lived that way for years, and warning signs began appearing in my body one by one," Lee said, adding that on the advice of doctors, Lee had decided to focus on recovery for the rest of 2026.
Some students said they were caught off guard by the announcement, coming just three weeks before the exam. The backlash intensified when news of Lee's broadcast activities spread.
Lee appeared at a press event for the Netflix show "Devil's Plan: Dead Again" on Thursday, where Lee revealed having personally asked the show's producer, Jeong Jong-yeon, to be cast. On Saturday, Lee launched a personal YouTube channel and posted a video promoting the entertainment program.
Critical comments flooded online forums. "Is the instructor retiring now?" some users wrote, while others asked, "Isn't this a betrayal of exam candidates?" and demanded that the lectures be uploaded.
Lee, a graduate of Seoul National University's College of Education with a degree in geography education, has taught Korean geography and world geography at Etoos. Lee gained wider public recognition through appearances on the Netflix show "Never Been in a Relationship but Want to Date" and MBC's "Point of Omniscient Interfere."
betterj@heraldcorp.com
