[Examining General Election Pledges] Expanding Regular Admissions, Banning Dad's Chance... Capturing Votes of 18-Year-Olds and Youth

Promises to Improve University Admission System and Eradicate Hiring Corruption

On the 3rd, high school students are looking at a banner posted by the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission about the expansion of voting rights to 18-year-olds in front of Dongseong High School in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Ahead of the April 15 general election, both ruling and opposition parties are actively targeting 18-year-olds and the youth demographic. Following last year's 'Cho Kuk incident,' fairness has emerged as a major social issue, leading to heightened interest in reforming university admission systems and eradicating hiring corruption more than ever before. Additionally, this election is the first to be held since the voting age was lowered to 18.

Major political parties commonly pledged to reform university admission systems and eliminate hiring corruption. The Democratic Party of Korea promised to increase the proportion of the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT)-based admissions to over 40% at 16 universities in the Seoul area and to simplify the college admission process. Specifically, they announced plans to reduce non-academic components in the comprehensive student record screening, abolish self-introduction letters and recommendation letters, and implement a fully blind screening process throughout the entire procedure. The United Future Party plans to raise the regular admission quota to over 50% and permanently store original application documents, including supporting materials, for five years in physical form and thereafter as electronic documents to prevent unfair admission practices when applying to universities or graduate schools.

The Minsheng Party proposed operating admissions centered on regular admissions until fairness in early admissions is restored, banning any out-of-school activities from being recorded in student records, and abolishing special talent admissions that are rife with parental favoritism. The Justice Party pledged to expand absolute evaluation of the CSAT and simplify college admissions by integrating regular and early admissions. The People's Party promised to increase regular admissions to 70% and conduct the CSAT twice a year (in July and October) to ensure stable administration.

Positions on abolishing autonomous private high schools (Jasago), foreign language high schools (Oego), and international high schools (Gukje-go) varied by party. The Democratic Party and Justice Party stated they would convert Jasago, Oego, and Gukje-go into general high schools. In contrast, the United Future Party and People's Party pledged to nullify the abolition of these schools.

Measures to eradicate hiring corruption were included in all parties' pledges. The Democratic Party announced plans to strengthen fairness in selecting interviewers and to enhance mechanisms preventing hiring misconduct in public institutions, including strict penalties for fraudulent acts. The United Future Party proposed establishing an organization within the party and the 21st National Assembly to monitor and supervise fair hiring, strengthening punishments for high-ranking public officials who request illicit hiring favors, and banning preferential hiring of labor union members' relatives.

The Minsheng Party pledged to prohibit preferential or special hiring of children and relatives of long-term employees and retirees and to cancel employment if hired through fraudulent means. The Justice Party promised to mandate reporting on employment status of high-ranking officials' children, implement multiple interviewers (two or more), and introduce at least 50% external experts in interviews. The People's Party vowed to impose imprisonment of up to five years or fines up to 50 million won on those involved in hiring favors or employment inheritance and to extend the retention period of hiring documents to at least three years to ensure punishment.