Final Applications Completed in 354 Early-Admission System Outage Cases ... Cancellation Recommended for 3 Applications Submitted After Viewing Competition Rates

[Financial News] Of the 1,588 relief requests filed after a system outage disrupted the 2027 early-admission application process, 414 were recognized as eligible for relief. Among them, 354 applicants completed their final application submissions. Cancellation was recommended for three applications submitted after applicants checked the competition rates disclosed during the extended submission period.
The Ministry of Education and the Korean Council for University Education (KCUE) announced the results on the 17th of their review of relief measures for applicants and their inspection of unfair cases related to the UWAYAPPLY application system outage. The announcement was made at the government complex in Sejong.
According to the Ministry of Education, a total of 1,588 relief requests were filed from the 14th through the 16th. The review examined error records from the outage that occurred at 5:50 p.m. on the 11th, along with system logs showing attempts to complete, save, submit, and pay for applications. As a result, 414 cases were recognized as eligible for relief, and 354 of them led to actual application submissions. The remaining 60 eligible applicants did not submit applications.
Eligibility for relief was determined based on objective system records, including error logs from 5:50 p.m. on the 11th, when the system outage occurred, as well as records of attempts to complete, save, submit, and pay for applications for the relevant admissions track.
The 354 finalized applications were distributed across 306 admission units and selection tracks at 40 universities. Kyungpook National University (KNU) recorded the largest number of relief cases, with 72, followed by Kyung Hee University with 51, Chung-Ang University (CAU) with 48, Chonnam National University (CNU) with 27, Kookmin University with 26, Inha University with 18, and Seoul National University of Science and Technology (SeoulTech) with 15.
The average competition rate at the 40 universities to which applicants eligible for relief submitted applications rose from 9.634 to 1 to 9.635 to 1, an increase of 0.001 point. The total number of applications across all universities increased by 354, from 2,554,259 to 2,554,613, while the overall competition rate rose from 9.801 to 1 to 9.802 to 1.
The Ministry of Education also explained that there was no concentration of relief applicants in particular admission units. The average competition rate for the nine admission units that had three or more relief cases was 71.25 to 1.
The authorities also released the results of an inspection into unfair practices during the extended application period. A total of 100 universities extended their deadlines from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. because of the system outage. Among them, 17 universities, including Sungkyunkwan University and Hanyang University (ERICA), disclosed their competition rates during the extension.
The Ministry of Education analyzed the 39 applications submitted to those 17 universities after the competition rates were disclosed. It confirmed three cases in which applicants actually checked the published rates before submitting applications to the universities.
The Ministry of Education and KCUE determined that the three cases could seriously undermine fairness among applicants and the fairness of the university admissions process. They therefore decided to recommend that the universities cancel the applications. The recommendation followed the Ministry of Education's statement the previous day that it would consider measures such as application cancellations if unfair practices were confirmed.
The Ministry of Education and KCUE are conducting an on-site investigation into UWAYAPPLY, examining the cause of the outage, the response process, and the overall system operation and management structure. They plan to review the relevant laws and contractual relationships before taking necessary measures regarding any problems identified in the investigation.
[email protected] Lee Bo-mi Reporter