The government is reviewing ways to directly operate the college admission application system... “At least 2 years required”

“At least 2 years are required when directly operated by the government… It is not easy to apply to the 2027 school year.”

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Noh Jae-hyeon = The Ministry of Education has decided to consider revamping the college admission application system, even opening up the option of having the government directly operate it.

The Ministry of Education announced on the 17th that it will prepare an optimal application system reform plan after completing a special investigation into the application reception agency Uway Apply in relation to the 'failure situation' in the 2027 college admissions rolling admissions process.

The Ministry of Education emphasized this at a briefing held at the Sejong Government Complex on this day, announcing the results of measures related to failures in the rolling application reception system.

Regarding the opposition of some test takers to the relief measures, claiming that fairness was undermined, the Ministry of Education acknowledged that "there are limits to checking all aspects and ensuring fairness and equity in each case."

In relation to this, the 'Student Solidarity for Securing the Fairness of Admission for Regular Applications', comprised of parents and test-takers, plans to hold a rally in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 19th to condemn the Ministry of Education regarding relief measures.

The following is a Q&A with Ministry of Education officials, including University Policy Director Song Geun-hyeon, at the briefing.

-- Has the legal review of the recommendation to cancel the application been completed?

▲ We plan to recommend cancellation of three cases to the university association and the university. Because the university has the authority to cancel, there is no legal basis for the Ministry of Education to cancel ex officio. It is expected that the universities will cooperate as they are strictly aware of fairness and equity.

-- There are many test takers who claim that the relief itself is unfair.

▲ In general, we would like to express our apologies for causing this problem. We established the principle of providing relief, and then we established the principle of canceling (the application). I think there are still other areas in the process where we are not satisfied with unfairness and fairness. I would like to tell you that there are limits to checking all aspects and ensuring fairness and equity in each case. Relief and cancellation were decided based on a combination of objective data, context, and logical matters. The Ministry of Education will later improve the system regarding remaining concerns about unfairness and equity.

- They said they were considering reforming the public application reception system, but I am curious as to whether the Ministry of Education will directly accept applications, or whether they will maintain the application reception agency system but directly manage and supervise the Ministry of Education.

▲ Currently, a special investigation team is inspecting and investigating on site. Based on the results, we will determine which method causes the least harm to test-takers and which method can contribute to college admission policy in the most fair and equitable manner. I will open both methods you suggested and find the optimal one.

-- Will the reform to a public system be considered for immediate application starting from the regular start of the 2027 school year?

▲ If the current private sector is respected and the government exercises some guidance, supervision and control, it will not take long. However, even in this case, it is expected that a certain amount of time will be needed due to legal grounds and system maintenance. However, it is difficult to say the timing right now. If the government were to accept applications directly, I think it would take at least two years to develop the legal basis and system. Considering the pilot operation, it will not be easy in the 2027 school year.

-- Yuway and Jinjinsa are responsible for regular recruitment, so how will they manage and supervise it?

▲ We are also very concerned about this. The biggest cause of errors we have identified so far is the occurrence of bugs due to security system upgrades. First of all, there is some time until the regular recruitment. We will carefully review system information and errors to prevent such issues from occurring during regular and additional recruitment.