Prosecutors are investigating a relative of Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik as part of an on-going investigation into a massive admission fraud case involving several foreign schools.
Prosecutors said Monday that they had summoned the wife of Kim’s nephew on suspicion of fabricating documents in order to enroll her child in a foreign school.
The 36-year-old, surnamed Park, is believed to have acquired a forged foreign passport through a broker, according to Incheon District Prosecutors’ Office.
The main opposition Democratic United Party criticized Kim, although the Prime Minister’s office denied his responsibility.
“The Prime Minister’s involvement shows the prevalence of such moral laxity among our social leaders,” Jung Sung-ho, a DUP spokesman said.
The questioning of Kim’s relative came amid a widening investigation that started earlier this month into allegations that a large number of parents, including several conglomerate families, bought forged documents from brokers to meet the requirements for enrolling their children in foreign schools.
Under the current law, only children with a parent with foreign citizenship or who have lived overseas for more than three years are entitled to study at foreign schools.
But the suspects are said to have paid up to 100 million won ($89,000) to brokers to obtain forged passports or certificates from Latin American or African countries to enable their children to enroll in the schools in Seoul and Incheon.
Prosecutors raided at least three foreign schools, including Cheongna Dalton School in Incheon, and so far, three brokers have been detained in connection with the case.
The prosecution on Monday also summoned the daughter-in-laws of former lawmakers and vice chairmen of local conglomerates connected to the case, and said they will continue questioning about 50 to 60 parents.
Foreign schools have recently drawn attention from affluent parents as an alternative to sending their children to study abroad.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said they are now looking at a possible reform of the admissions systems at foreign schools.
By Oh Kyu-wook (
596story@heraldcorp.com)
