Suspicions of Preselection for Dental School Admissions at Regional National Universities: "We'll Admit You If You Apply Here"

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Controversy has arisen over allegations that there are predetermined successful candidates in the early admission screening process for next year’s university entrance exams at a national university in a provincial area.

Allegations of admission corruption at regional national university dental schools raised by instructor Yoon Do-young.
[Photo by Yoon Do-young, Instagram capture]

According to education circles on the 30th, Yoon Do-young, known as the so-called 'Daechi-dong star instructor,' recently raised suspicions of admission corruption through his social network service (SNS).

According to the tip posted by Instructor Yoon, a student A, who claimed to be a third-year high school student, said, "One of the students attending the same school reportedly heard from a school teacher that 'we have decided to select one student from our school, so apply here.'" He added, "At first, I naturally did not believe it, but after further investigation, I found out that the application written by that friend was for the 'B University School Principal Recommendation Screening for Regional Talents in the Department of Dentistry,' which Instructor A mentioned on SNS a few months ago."

He continued, "This situation seems to be connected to the policies promoted in our region, so everything fits perfectly," and said, "If you confirm and reply, I will provide more details about the school name and suspicious matters."

Instructor Yoon pointed out, "From the perspective of someone who has been involved in top-tier university admissions for a long time, this is not surprising at all," adding, "Anyway, this is not unique to this university. What we should pay attention to is that such incidents always occur only in the medical (health sciences) field."

The suspicious 'Regional Talents School Principal Recommendation Screening' disappears after one year of implementation

Admission plans for 2023 and 2024 at Regional National University B. In the 2023 dental school admissions, only the 'Local Talent' track was available, but in the 2024 admissions, a new 'Local Talent Principal Recommendation Track' has been established.
[Photo by Regional National University B University Early Admission Guide Capture]

The problematic screening is the 2024 early admission 'Regional Talents School Principal Recommendation Screening' for the Department of Dentistry at B University. This screening was newly established this year and is one of the comprehensive student record screenings conducted through document evaluation (student records) and interviews.

The total number of students selected for the Department of Dentistry is 42, and three students are selected through this screening. Each high school can recommend only one candidate, and applicants must submit their applications after prior consultation with their current high school.

Instructor Yoon pointed out that this screening exists only in the Department of Dentistry at B University, comprehensively evaluates academic, career, and community competencies, and does not have a minimum CSAT (College Scholastic Ability Test) score requirement.

He also noted that the fact that only three students are recruited raises questions. Each university is required to disclose admission results such as the internal school records and CSAT scores of successful candidates for each department on the Korea University Education Council’s university admission information portal 'Eodiga,' but if the number of recruits is three or fewer, disclosure is not mandatory.

Although Instructor Yoon did not explicitly mention it, it appears he implied that establishing a comprehensive student record screening, especially a school principal recommendation screening that emphasizes qualitative factors over quantitative assessments like the CSAT, only in a specific department might be intended to select predetermined candidates.

Ministry of Education operates a focused reporting period for admission corruption

If the number of recruits is three, it is not necessary to disclose the admission results on the 'Daehak Eodiga' website. The photo shows a part explaining the newly established 'Regional Talent Principal Recommendation Admission' at National University B in the provinces.
[Photo by National University B in the provinces, Early Admission Guidelines capture]

In response, B University stated, "It is impossible that acceptance was guaranteed to a specific high school teacher," denying the allegations outright.

Regarding the reason for establishing this screening, the university explained, "The number of students who enroll in the dental school but then withdraw to transfer to medical school has surged, seriously affecting department operations," adding, "The intention behind this is to select students who actively participate in school life and have diverse competencies rather than high-performing students who tend to withdraw frequently."

Meanwhile, on the 31st, the Ministry of Education announced that it would officially operate a reporting center for admission corruption. Although it currently does not plan to conduct a full-scale investigation, there is a possibility that the investigation could expand to cover the entire university entrance process depending on the reporting status.

The Ministry of Education will operate a focused reporting period for admission corruption from the 1st to the 30th of next month. The expansion of the reporting center’s scope from private education cartels and irregularities to admission corruption appears to be influenced by multiple factors.

The Ministry explained that this is part of fulfilling national policy tasks. Previously, in July last year, the Yoon Seok-yeol administration’s 120 national policy tasks included establishing a dedicated department for investigating admission corruption and creating a response system for admission corruption.

An official from the Ministry of Education said regarding the admission corruption allegations at B University, "We have come across the issue through the internet and confirmed it with the university, but since the screening is ongoing, it could be a sensitive matter," adding, "We recognize that suspicions may arise, but it is difficult to say 'we will take action' based solely on the current facts. We are monitoring the overall situation."