Ministry of Education: "Yonsei University Must Propose Alternatives to Halting Essay Follow-up Procedures"

Court Accepts Injunction to Halt Follow-up Procedures for Yonsei University Essay
Ministry of Education: "Guiding to Ensure Proper Operation"

The Ministry of Education urged Yonsei University to "present alternatives" after the court suspended the follow-up procedures related to the 2025 academic year Yonsei University early admission natural sciences essay exam.

On the 15th, the Ministry of Education stated regarding the controversy over the leakage of the 2025 Yonsei University early admission essay questions that, following the court's acceptance of the 'injunction to suspend the effectiveness of the exam,' it will "supervise and guide to ensure the selection process is conducted in a lawful and fair manner."

In particular, the Ministry said, "Yonsei University must present alternatives that align with the court's decision to ensure there is no impact on this year's admission schedule," adding, "We understand that Yonsei University is currently considering countermeasures and will announce them once they are prepared."

Earlier, the Seoul Western District Court Civil Division 21 ruled on the same day to "suspend the follow-up procedures related to the 2025 academic year Yonsei University early admission natural sciences essay exam until the judgment is delivered in the case requesting a re-examination of the essay exam."

Test takers have filed a class-action lawsuit requesting the court to allow them to retake the essay exam. The court reportedly judged, "This case fundamentally began when, due to an error by the supervisors, the test papers were distributed early and then collected only at one examination site, and the supervisors failed to take appropriate measures to prevent the external leakage of information related to the questions after collecting the test papers."

Previously, test takers filed an injunction to suspend the effectiveness of the exam, arguing that fairness was compromised due to the leakage of the exam content after the test papers were mistakenly distributed about an hour before the start of the natural sciences essay exam at one examination site and then collected by the supervisors.