Education Minister Choi Kyo-jin said he would take responsibility for a system failure that disrupted applications for early admissions to universities for the 2027 academic year. The Education Ministry estimates about 1,200 students were unable to complete their applications and plans to identify those eligible for relief by reviewing records such as submission attempts.
Choi made the remarks on the 14th during a parliamentary question-and-answer session on education, society and culture, when Rep. Suh Beom-soo of the People Power Party asked who was responsible for the incident. "First, we will do our utmost to ensure students are not harmed," Choi said. "If there is responsibility to be taken, of course I will take it."
The system failure occurred at around 5:50 p.m. on the 11th at Uway Apply, the agency handling early admission applications, roughly 10 minutes before the original 6 p.m. deadline. The Education Ministry and the Korean Council for University Education extended the deadline by an hour to 7 p.m. Choi said he made the final decision, adding, "I was briefed on what had been discussed at the working level with the council and told them to proceed."
The ministry plans to determine who qualifies for relief based on records showing that students drafted, saved or submitted applications, or attempted to pay. Choi said the number of students actually granted relief would likely be smaller than the 1,200 who failed to apply, but stressed, "We will do our utmost to ensure that not a single person is disadvantaged."
Students who gave up on their intended universities because of the failure and instead applied to other schools through a different application service can also receive relief if related records are confirmed. Applicants are limited to six applications under the early admissions system. "If the process is documented in the records, they can be included among those eligible for relief," Choi said.
Questions of fairness were also raised over the deadline extension. Some universities disclosed their application-to-seat ratios at 6 p.m., and because applications continued for another hour, students could check those figures before submitting additional applications. The ministry will form a task force led by the head of its higher and lifelong education office, with the council participating, to draw up measures preventing disadvantages to applicants.
The ministry also plans to consider having public bodies such as the Education Ministry or the council directly manage the application system, which is currently run by private operators. "We have attempted this in the past," Choi said. "Given that an incident like this has occurred, we will once again actively review the feasibility of having a public institution manage it directly."
