Dismissal of Teachers Involved in Admission Misconduct... Preventing 'Eumdae Admission Corruption'

Failure to Disclose Special Relationships to Result in 'Punishment'
Basis Established... Professors Involved in Admission Misconduct to Be Dismissed
Students Admitted Illegally to Face 'Admission Cancellation'

As professors involved in corruption in music college entrance exams were caught in large numbers, the Ministry of Education decided to strengthen disciplinary measures, including the possibility of dismissal for teachers involved in entrance exam fraud.

On the 18th, the Ministry of Education held a meeting with major music college admissions officers to discuss countermeasures against entrance exam corruption, including those at music colleges. Earlier, on the 10th, 17 individuals including university professors and brokers who illicitly admitted students they privately tutored during the music college entrance process were sent to the prosecution.

The Ministry of Education plans to strengthen punishments related to entrance exam corruption and improve the practical exam system to prevent fraud. First, they will establish grounds for punishing admissions officers who fail to report 'special relationships' such as tutoring students to the head of the university. Although there were existing regulations requiring disclosure of special relationships such as tutoring or kinship with applicants, there was criticism about the lack of effectiveness due to no punishment for violations. The Ministry plans to amend the Higher Education Act to provide criminal penalties such as imprisonment or fines if those subject to avoidance or exclusion fail to disclose such facts.

Disciplinary measures against teachers who commit entrance exam fraud will also be significantly strengthened. The Ministry will revise the disciplinary guidelines for educational public officials this month to include 'entrance exam misconduct' as a disciplinary criterion. Teachers who intentionally or negligently commit entrance exam fraud will face dismissal. To enhance the effectiveness of investigations into entrance exam fraud, the statute of limitations for disciplinary action will be extended from 3 years to 10 years through amendments to the Educational Public Officials Act.

Grounds will be established to cancel the admission of students who were admitted fraudulently through entrance exam corruption. Current law allows cancellation of admission for submitting false documents, proxy test-taking, or other dishonest acts defined by school regulations. The Ministry will explicitly specify dishonest acts such as 'those who contacted evaluators in advance through tutoring or other means to gain an advantage in evaluation' in the school regulations to increase the law’s effectiveness.

If a university is systematically involved in serious entrance exam corruption, administrative and financial sanctions will be strengthened. The Enforcement Decree of the Higher Education Act will be amended to allow quota reduction measures from the first violation, and support restrictions or budget cuts in the 'University Support Project for High School Education Contribution' may also be imposed.

The fairness of practical exams for arts and physical education entrance exams will also be ensured. The proportion of external evaluators will be increased, and measures such as recording and videotaping evaluations, deploying on-site supervisors, and requiring evaluators and students to submit pledges will be incorporated into the 'Basic Matters of University Admissions' to ensure universities establish operational plans to enhance fairness in practical exams.

Starting from the 1st of next month, the 'Guidelines on Concurrent Positions of University Faculty Related to Private Education' will also be implemented. This is to raise awareness about private tutoring by faculty members, which continues as a practice despite being legally prohibited. Through the implementation of these guidelines, the Ministry of Education will clarify the principle of prohibiting private tutoring by faculty and guide universities to prohibit approval of concurrent positions related to private education.

Oh Seok-hwan, Deputy Minister of Education, stated, "We deeply feel responsible for the recurrence of entrance exam corruption amid high public demand for fairness in university admissions. We will strongly punish teachers involved in entrance exam fraud and eliminate entrance exam corruption by supplementing deficiencies in the arts and physical education practical exam system."