A South Korean billionaire and the heir of Samsung Electronics has publicly apologized for a controversy surrounding his son’s admittance to an elite school in Seoul.
Jay Y Lee, the only son of Samsung chairman Lee Kun-Hee, begged pardon after reports emerged that his 13-year old son was given preferential treatment by the Younghoon International Middle School.
Prosecutors raided the primary school on Tuesday after suspicions were raised that it had skewed admission scores to favour certain applicants, including Lee’s son, reports AFP.
“I am sorry for having caused a stir over my son’s schooling… it was my fault for not being able to check up on this properly,” Lee said in a brief statement.
Lee also confirmed he had pulled his son out of the school and was believed to be seeking his transfer to another.
“I thought that it was right to take my child out due to the controversy,” he said.
Seoul education authorities have launched a probe into 11 school officials on suspicion of manipulating test scores, spurring outrage in the country whose value for education is high.