Jang Dong-hyuk, the leader of the ruling People Power Party, has called for Education Minister Choi Kyo-jin to resign, citing responsibility for the recent failure of the college application system. The party plans to establish a task force directly under the party leader to clarify the facts surrounding the incident.
During an emergency meeting on September 17 at the National Assembly, Jang announced the party's proactive response to the situation. He noted, "This is the last year students will take the college entrance exam in its current format, so we anticipated a surge in applicants," emphasizing that the system overload was foreseeable.
Questions have also arisen regarding the government's response to the crisis. Jang stated, "The current government seems to lack both the will and the capability to find a proper solution," adding that while the Education Ministry claims to be preparing remedies, they are unlikely to be satisfactory alternatives.
He stressed, "This is an irreversible issue," insisting that the Education Minister must take responsibility and resign. He also indicated that others responsible should be held accountable.
Im Yi-ja, the party's policy chief, remarked, "Fairness and equity are essential in college admissions," and stated that the meeting would examine the specific problems and confusion that arose during the application process, as well as what was lacking in the guidance from the government and universities.
In response, the People Power Party has decided to form a 'College Admissions Fairness Task Force' led by Jang. This group will investigate the impact of the incident with experts from various fields and develop measures to assist affected students and improve the system.
Additionally, lawmaker Na Kyung-won held a separate press conference that afternoon, labeling the incident as "negligent intent" and urging the education authorities to devise reasonable remedies.
Meanwhile, on September 11, a system failure at the agency handling college applications prevented some students from completing their submissions. Although the application deadline was extended, some universities released competition rates based on the original deadline, leading to situations where students checked the rates before applying.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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