“Cancel fraudulent applications submitted after 6 p.m.!” “Ministry of Education must take responsibility!”
On the afternoon of the 19th, approximately 50 test-takers and parents gathered in front of the National Assembly in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, and shouted these slogans. In their hands were pickets reading, “Betrayal of students who followed the rules, ensure fairness in college admissions,” and others. Banners such as “In memory of the fair admissions process” and “Fair admissions, a dream of South Korea” were also hung at the scene.
The reason test-takers and parents, who are currently busy preparing for early admissions interviews and the college entrance exam, visited the National Assembly was due to the “system crash” incident that occurred during the early admissions application submission on the 11th. They argue that the decisions made by the education authorities after the incident were unfair to students who completed their submissions on time.
A parent of a high school senior attending the rally said, “The high school seniors here are going through a grueling time,” and added, “Why should students who followed the rules suffer? You cannot ignore our children who adhered to the principles.” A test-taker present also stated, “Applications submitted after 6 p.m., the original deadline, should indeed be canceled.”
The application system crash occurred on the 11th between 5:50 p.m. and 6:20 p.m., just 10 minutes before the deadline, on the Uway Apply platform, which handles application submissions. Afterward, the Korean Council for University Education (KCUE), Ministry of Education, and Uway decided to extend the submission deadline to 7 p.m. on the same day.
Test-takers and parents at the rally criticized this extension as incorrect. They argued that students who submitted their applications early faced disadvantages, such as increased competition from those who submitted between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m.
They also raised issues with the relief measures implemented by the Ministry of Education from the 14th to the 16th. According to the Ministry, 1,588 cases were applied for relief, with 414 deemed eligible, and 354 actually processed. Participants at the rally questioned why students who failed to submit during the extended period should receive relief, stating, “Those who did not submit during the extended time are at fault.”
A participant who spoke as a parent representative said, “The Ministry of Education should reconsider whether the students they provided relief to are truly victims,” and emphasized, “The real victims are those who submitted their applications 30 minutes, an hour, or a day before the deadline to protect the results of their 12 years of hard work and effort.”
jasdooit 
Leave a comment