Two rape suspects enter university with clean records after high school violence committee drags feet on case

As an alleged gang rape at Cornell University involving a Korean student draws scrutiny in the United States, anger is growing in Seoul over a similar case at a traditional arts high school, where two seniors accused of raping a classmate last year went on to university without any disciplinary action or even a record. 

Education authorities are investigating a case at the National High School of Traditional Korean Arts in Geumcheon District, southern Seoul, where a school violence committee put off ruling on the case until the two students had graduated, leaving no record of the allegations to follow them. Suspicions have also been raised that the high school's lukewarm response was influenced by one student's father who reportedly has longstanding ties to the school. 

“We have asked for an investigation into the matter,” said the Ministry of Education in a written statement on Monday. “We plan to review specific measures and responses based on the results of the education office's investigation.” 

The case came to light last week through reports by local daily newspaper Hankook Ilbo and broadcaster MBC. 

Two male high school seniors at the National High School of Traditional Korean Arts allegedly raped a female classmate for about three hours inside a music practice room in Anyang, Gyeonggi, on May 6, 2025. They also reportedly filmed the act against the victim's will.

The victim reported the incident to the police and her school the following month, in June. After investigating, police referred the two suspects to prosecutors without detention on Jan. 27 on charges including aggravated rape based on the victim's statement, CCTV footage and an analysis of the suspects' cell phones, which also contained video of the assault.

After the victim's report, the school asked the Seoul Nambu District Office of Education to convene a school violence deliberation committee — standard procedure in Korea for handling reported bullying and assault cases — which would decide disciplinary measures against the students.

But the committee did not hold its first hearing until Nov. 28, 2025, five months after the victim reported the allegations. It then deferred its decision on the grounds that the police investigation was still underway at the time.

The committee then reconvened on April 6, more than four months after its initial hearing and more than two months after the police referred the suspects to prosecutors. Just a week later, on April 13, the committee closed the case, saying it would be difficult to enforce any measures because the two had already graduated. The Korean school year typically ends in February. Thus, no disciplinary action against the two male students was taken, and nothing was entered in their school records.

The two male students enrolled in universities for the 2026 school year — one in Seoul and the other outside the capital.

The father of one of them is a heavyweight in the gugak (traditional Korean music) scene who served as a full-time instructor at traditional arts middle and high schools, and as an executive of the Korean Traditional Music Association, according to local reports. 

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education on Tuesday sent three officials to the National High School of Traditional Korean Arts to further investigate. 

“We will look into why the deliberation was delayed, how it came to be that measures had to be deferred and how the deliberation committee was run,” an official from the education office said. 

BY LEE JIAN [[email protected]]