Entrance Exam Expert, KBS Radio Interview
"Use of Disciplinary Actions in School Violence as Deduction Factor"
"Regular Admission, Reduced Impact of School Records... High Scores Are Key"
Jeong Soon-shin (57), a lawyer appointed as the head of the National Investigation Headquarters, expressed his intention to voluntarily resign just one day after his appointment due to his son's school violence (hakpok) incident, raising questions about his son's admission to Seoul National University. Jeong's son was involved in school violence and was subjected to forced transfer, yet he was admitted to Seoul National University. An admissions expert explained that the penalty points from this incident were likely not significant enough to determine the outcome of the admission.
Previously, Jeong's son, Jeong Mo, who entered a self-governing private high school in Gangwon Province in 2017, continuously used harsh verbal abuse against a classmate, A, calling him "piglet" and "a red from Jeju Island," among other insults. In March 2018, the school violence committee imposed disciplinary actions including forced transfer, written apology, transfer, and completion of special education.
According to the school violence-related judgment documents at the time, the victim suffered severe aftereffects of school violence to the extent that just hearing Jeong's name caused trembling and anxiety symptoms. The victim also faced difficulties in daily life, receiving inpatient treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and panic disorder, and even attempted extreme self-harm.
In 2020, Jeong entered Seoul National University through the regular admission track, which reflects 100% of the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) scores. However, the Seoul National University admission guidelines for that year included a proviso stating that additional documents could be requested to verify disciplinary actions inside and outside the school, and such factors could be used as penalty points. Despite the school violence record being a potential penalty factor, Jeong was admitted to Seoul National University. This sparked controversy over how the son of a lawyer with a school violence record could gain admission to Seoul National University.
Admissions expert Lee Seok-rok appeared on KBS Radio's "Choi Kyung-young's Strongest Current Affairs" on the 27th and said, "Although some parts of the student record are reflected in the regular admission, their influence is not significant," adding, "What matters is the CSAT score, that is, achieving a high score."
Regarding the proviso, he said, "Penalty points can be applied based on whether there was a forced disciplinary action related to school violence," but added, "There must be internal regulations at Seoul National University on how much to deduct, but generally, they do not deduct enough to infringe on core factors."
The expert explained, "Considering the seriousness of the school violence issue and the educational intent, there are many problems involved, and from the perspective of being an excellent student, there is potential for issues," but also noted, "There is a track (admission type) that gives opportunities to students who have received disciplinary actions after school violence and have sufficiently reflected and reformed."
However, it is currently difficult to grasp the severity of school violence from the school life records alone, as only the measures taken are recorded without qualitative details related to school violence. He emphasized, "The school life records only describe transfer measures or 'hours of community service performed,' making it difficult to assess the extent of school violence," and added, "There should be a way to strictly reflect school violence disciplinary actions in admissions."
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