"Commit school violence and still get into a top university? No way"...Major Seoul universities reject 99% of applicants with school violence records

[Financial News] In the 2026 academic year university admissions early decision round, most perpetrators of school violence were rejected by major prestigious universities in Seoul.
According to data titled "Status of Reflection of School Violence Records in 2026 Academic Year Early Admission" released on the 16th by the office of Jin Sun-mee, a member of the National Assembly Education Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), 3,273 applicants with a history of committing school violence applied to 170 four-year universities nationwide. Among them, 2,460 applicants, or 75%, were rejected.
At 11 major universities in Seoul—Seoul National University (SNU), Yonsei University, Korea University, Sogang University, Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), Hanyang University, Ewha Womans University (Ewha), Chung-Ang University, Kyung Hee University, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS), and the University of Seoul (UOS)—the vast majority of applicants with school violence records were rejected.
Of the 151 applicants with school violence records who applied to these 11 major Seoul universities, 150 were rejected, resulting in a rejection rate of 99%. In effect, it has become extremely difficult for students with a history of school violence to gain admission to top universities.
By university, SNU had no applicants with a school violence record. Yonsei University had 5 such applicants and Korea University had 12. Sogang University had 3, SKKU 3, Hanyang University 7, Chung-Ang University 32, HUFS 14, UOS 12, and Ewha 1 applicant with a school violence record, and all of them were rejected.
At Kyung Hee University, 62 applicants had points deducted due to school violence records; among them, 1 was admitted while the remaining 61 were rejected.
Under the "Comprehensive School Violence Eradication Plan" of the United States Department of Education (ED), universities are now required, starting with this year’s admissions cycle, to reflect school violence disciplinary records not only in student record-based admissions but in all tracks, including essay and performance-based admissions. As the regular admissions round is still underway, the number of rejected applicants with school violence records is expected to increase further.
newssu@fnnews.com Kim Su-yeon Reporter