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Nearly 50 English language teachers from Canada have been arrested on suspicion of working illegally or having fraudulent qualifications. Officials put the number of English teachers working legally in South Korea at 7,800. The number of those working without the necessary documentation is believed to be around 20,000. An increase in the number or private schools is blamed for the rise in illegal workers.

The Ministry of education will probe private schools over irregularities in the fight against corruption. The education minister and the Board of audit and inspection will soon jointly select private schools suspected of mismanaging their schools. They will only investigate those which are suspected of mismanagement and corruption, rather than doing random investigation.

Seoul's education authority is conducting an intensive crackdown on corrupt practices in the hiring of teachers at private elementary, middle and high schools. Officials at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (SMOE) said Monday that they are collecting tips amid persistent rumors of bribery during the hiring process. In this process, it is said that close ties with school foundation officials, or even bribes, often become the decisive factor in landing a job.