Only 388 of 1,588 Relief Applications in University Early-Admission System Outage Qualify; 250 Submissions Completed

[Financial News] A total of 1,588 relief applications were submitted in connection with the outage affecting the university early-admission application system. However, only 388 were classified as eligible for relief after objective electronic records were verified. The Ministry of Education applied the strict principle that applications cannot be remedied if there are no system log records at all, excluding a substantial number of applicants from relief eligibility.
According to the Ministry of Education’s report, “Status of Relief Applications and Processing Related to 2027 University Early-Admission Applications,” released on September 16, a total of 1,588 relief applications had been submitted through Uwayapply, the application-submission agency, as of 6 p.m. that day.
The Ministry of Education completed electronic verification for 1,400 of the applications and confirmed 388 as eligible for relief after excluding duplicate applications and verifying logs showing attempts to write, save, or pay for applications. Among those eligible for relief, 250 students had completed final submission to their respective universities. The remaining 188 cases are still under review as officials compare the electronic records.
Earlier that day, Education Minister Choi Kyo-jin told a full meeting of the National Assembly Education Committee, "If an applicant attempted to write, save, submit, or pay through the application system, a record must remain." He added, "If there are no system log records at all for the time when the system error occurred—5:50 p.m. on the 11th—there is currently no way to provide relief."
The Ministry of Education has also begun taking measures against unfair application practices that occurred during the extended deadline. On the 11th, the deadline was extended by one hour, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., because of the system failure. However, 17 universities, including Sungkyunkwan University, Sejong University, and Hanyang University ERICA, failed to recognize the extension in time and publicly disclosed competition rates based on the original 6 p.m. deadline. If it is confirmed that applicants checked those competition rates and submitted applications at the last minute, the Ministry is considering canceling the applications outright in consultation with the universities concerned.
The government is also pursuing a fundamental overhaul of the current university application system, which relies entirely on private agencies. Minister Choi Kyo-jin emphasized, "Taking this incident as an opportunity, we will also consider completely reorganizing the current university application system, which is operated under contracts between universities and private agencies, into a public system." University applications are currently handled by two private companies: Uwayapply, which serves 102 universities, and Jinhakapply, which serves 96. This has led to persistent criticism over oligopoly concerns and the lack of public oversight.
The Ministry of Education and the Korean Council for University Education (KCUE) deployed a special investigation team on September 16 for an intensive investigation running through September 23. The team will examine the cause of Uwayapply’s security-update conflict and its overall crisis-response system. Based on the investigation’s findings, the Ministry of Education plans to hold those responsible strictly accountable and begin full-scale discussions on reorganizing the application system into a public system.

[email protected] Man-ki Kim Reporter