South Korea prepares lawsuit over university application system failure — Korea Herald
In South Korea, high school students and their parents demanded that all university applications submitted after the initial deadline be annulled. Protesters near the National Assembly said the Education Ministry’s decision to allow some applicants to complete their submissions after the system failure did not restore fairness in the selection process, Korea Herald reports.
Failure before the deadline
The failure occurred on the Uway Apply platform, one of the country’s two main university application systems, at around 5:50 p.m. on September 11. This happened 10 minutes before applications were due to close at 6:00 p.m. as part of the 2027 early admissions cycle. The deadline was subsequently extended until 7:00 p.m.
Protesters believe that extending the deadline put those who had managed to submit their applications before 6:00 p.m. at a disadvantage. Critics of the decision said that applicants who had not completed their submissions by the original deadline could check competition levels across different university programs and change their choices. In the early admissions cycle, each applicant may submit up to six applications.
Application review and possible lawsuit
The Education Ministry said it had reviewed 1,588 cases using computer system data and payment records. The ministry determined that 354 applicants had been unable to complete their submissions because of the failure and recognized them as eligible for the relief provided by the ministry.
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The ministry also recommended that universities annul three applications. According to the ministry, they were submitted after the initial deadline following a review of competition figures. Protesters believe this number is underestimated, as computer records do not always make it possible to determine whether an applicant checked such figures before submitting an application.
Education Minister Choi Kyo Jin rejected claims that applicants who submitted their applications earlier had been placed at a disadvantage. At the same time, a ministry representative told Yonhap that it would be difficult to achieve complete fairness while addressing the consequences of the failure.
Review of the application system
A group of students and parents said it was preparing a lawsuit and considering seeking damages from the Education Ministry. Lawmakers from the People Power Party on the parliamentary education committee said they were to hold an emergency meeting on Monday on the fairness of the admissions process.
University applications are currently processed by the private companies Uway Apply and Jinhak Apply. The Education Ministry is considering strengthening state administration and oversight of the procedure. The ministry, the Korean Council for University Education and the Korea Advancing Schools Foundation have also launched an investigation into Uway Apply and do not rule out further legal action and a referral to the police.
