The People Power Party on September 21 emphasized the Ministry of Education's responsibility for the failure of the college application system for the 2027 academic year, highlighting issues of oversight and fairness in admissions.
The party held an emergency meeting at the National Assembly, attended by Representative Jang Dong-hyuk and Policy Committee Chair Im I-ja, to discuss the system failure during the early application process.
Representative Jang referenced comments made by Education Minister Cho Kyoo-jin, who stated that students who applied early would not face disadvantages. Jang questioned, "Would he have said that if it were his own child involved?" He insisted that accountability for this incident must be established.
He criticized the Ministry of Education for downplaying the impact of the system failure, stating, "Even a 0.001% change can alter a student's future entirely." Jang also pointed out that the ministry failed to anticipate the possibility of a system failure and did not have a contingency plan in place. He noted that predictions of a record number of applicants had been made since spring, saying, "At the very least, there should have been a 'Plan B' to verify that applications were completed before schools announced their admission rates if the system went down."
Im I-ja added that if the application process was outsourced, there should have been mechanisms in place to ensure the system functioned properly and to respond immediately in case of a failure. She stated, "The Ministry of Education's responsibility does not disappear just because a private company made a mistake."
The People Power Party plans to develop measures at the party level, focusing on the causes of the system failure, the appropriateness of the ministry's and the company's responses, and the government's relief measures for affected students, as well as fairness and equity in college admissions.
Jang emphasized that the criteria for relief must be clear, stating, "We need to quickly find a fair and proper relief plan," and called for the establishment of a system to ensure that public institutions are accountable for college admissions.
Meanwhile, the People Power Party held an emergency meeting on September 17 with affected students and parents, demanding the resignation of Minister Cho. They also announced the formation of a task force on college admissions fairness to review the operation and management of the application system and emergency response guidelines.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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