“Abandoning exam candidates to make an entertainment debut?” ... Top instructor who appeared on Netflix hit with “all courses deleted”

[Financial News] Star instructor Lee Do (real name unconfirmed), who halted all lectures citing “health reasons” just three weeks before the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), came under fierce criticism after soon appearing at a press conference for a Netflix variety show and launching a personal YouTube channel. Lee eventually issued an apology. Etoos Education, the platform Lee was affiliated with, deleted all of Lee’s courses and student reviews at once, effectively beginning the process of removing Lee from the platform.
On the 10th, Lee posted a handwritten apology on social media, saying, “I announced that I would be unable to teach my remaining classes with just three weeks to go before the CSAT.” Lee added, “I disrupted your plans at the most important time and failed to see the curriculum through to the end for the second year in a row. There is no excuse; it was entirely my fault.”
Lee said, “Above all, I was irresponsible. I had known for a long time that I was unwell, but I put off making a decision because I thought I could hold out until the end.” Lee admitted, “If I had been honest about it sooner, you would have had time to prepare using other lectures or study materials. It was my poor judgment that took that time away from you.”
Lee also addressed promoting the variety show and launching a personal channel, saying, “I prioritized other public-facing activities before finishing what I needed to do as an instructor. I can imagine how disappointed the students must have been, left to get through the remaining time on their own.” Lee added, “I will suspend my broadcasting and personal content activities and reflect on my actions until my health recovers.”

Lee, a graduate of Seoul National University’s Department of Geography Education in the College of Education, previously taught Korean Geography and World Geography at Etoos Education and became known as the “youngest CSAT instructor.” However, on the 29th of last month, Lee abruptly announced that classes in the final preparation course would be halted ahead of the CSAT, saying, “Following the advice of my medical team, I’ve decided to take care of myself for the rest of 2026.”
With exam candidates’ anxiety at its peak, Lee appeared just one week later, on the 5th, at a press conference for Netflix’s brain-survival variety show “The Devil’s Plan: Dead Again.” Reports also emerged that Lee had said at the event, “I earnestly asked producer Jung Jong-yeon to let me appear, even revealing my CSAT scores.” When Lee then opened a personal YouTube channel to promote the show, exam-taker communities erupted with comments such as, “Was this an attempt to use exam candidates as hostages to launch an entertainment career?” and “Was the health excuse a lie?”
As the controversy spread, Etoos Education, the education platform Lee was affiliated with, issued an apology on the 9th, saying, “We coordinated the schedule with the instructor and supported the filming, but the agreed schedule could not be kept due to circumstances on the instructor’s end.”
As of the 10th, all 17 course pages listed under Lee’s name had been cleared from Etoos Education’s official website, and the roughly 100 course reviews and the question board had also been made private or deleted. In the private education industry, where trust with exam candidates should be the top priority, criticism is mounting that Lee abandoned professional ethics. There is also speculation that the process of removing Lee, including terminating the instructor’s contract, may now be getting underway in earnest.
[email protected] Moon Young-jin Reporter