Despite 'Guaranteed Employment at Major Corporations,' Students Give Up Enrollment
Semiconductor Department Admits Also Head to Medical Schools
Expansion of Medical School Quotas and Sluggish Semiconductor Industry Are Influential
Photo by Kang Jin-hyung. This is an image from a job fair held at a university located in Seoul and is unrelated to the article content.
Last year, it was revealed that a large number of admitted students in semiconductor contract departments, which guarantee employment at major companies such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, gave up their enrollment. It is presumed that the admitted students gave up enrollment due to overlapping admissions in medical and pharmaceutical fields.
On the 9th, Jongno Academy analyzed the final additional admission status for the 2024 regular admissions and found that a staggering 138 students (enrollment withdrawal rate of 179.2%) who were admitted to five semiconductor contract departments guaranteeing employment at Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix after graduation gave up their enrollment. The number of students who gave up enrollment is 1.8 times the number of regular admission slots.
The semiconductor contract departments linked with Samsung Electronics at Sungkyunkwan University and Yonsei University had 78 students who did not enroll, which is 1.7 times the recruitment number (47 students). Yonsei University's Department of System Semiconductor Engineering had 65 students who gave up enrollment despite being admitted, which is 2.6 times the recruitment number (25 students). Sungkyunkwan University's Department of Semiconductor Systems Engineering also had 13 students who did not enroll, accounting for 59% of the recruitment number (22 students).
The semiconductor contract departments contracted with SK Hynix at Korea University, Hanyang University, and Sogang University had an even higher enrollment withdrawal rate, with 60 students not enrolling, twice the recruitment number (30 students). Hanyang University's Department of Semiconductor Engineering had 36 admitted students who did not enroll, making the number of enrollment withdrawals 3.6 times the recruitment number (10 students). Sogang University's Department of System Semiconductor Engineering had 14 students who did not enroll, 1.4 times the recruitment number (10 students). Korea University's Department of Semiconductor Engineering had as many students giving up enrollment as the recruitment number (10 students).
2024 Academic Year Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix Semiconductor Contract Department Regular Admission Successful Applicants Non-Registration Status. Provided by Jongno Academy
Although semiconductor contract departments offer the unprecedented benefit of 'guaranteed employment at major companies,' it is analyzed that admitted students are actually leaving for other fields such as medical schools. This year, the scale of this outflow is expected to increase due to the expansion of medical school admission quotas. Im Seong-ho, CEO of Jongno Academy, explained, "It is presumed that a significant number of regular admission students who gave up enrollment left due to overlapping admissions in medical and pharmaceutical fields or science and engineering departments at Seoul National University," adding, "The expansion of medical school admission quotas, coupled with the sluggishness of semiconductor-related companies, seems to have played a role."
The average competition rate for the five semiconductor contract departments in the 2025 regular admissions is 7.30 to 1. The three SK Hynix contract departments recorded 9.79 to 1, while the two Samsung Electronics contract departments recorded 5.86 to 1.
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