Seoul National University’s Law School is facing scrutiny for using a transcript format that allows identification of applicants' alma maters, undermining the principle of 'blind evaluation,' during a National Assembly audit on October 16.
Rep. Baek Seung-a of the Democratic Party raised concerns about the fairness of admissions at Seoul National University’s Law School during the National Assembly's Education Committee audit.
According to Rep. Baek, among the 152 students who were admitted to the law school this year, 94 were graduates of Seoul National University, accounting for 61.8% of the total. He pointed to the university's unique transcript format as a contributing factor to this trend. Unlike other universities, Seoul National University's transcripts are issued in a horizontal format, making it easy to identify the applicant's school from the document's appearance.
“Does Seoul National University need to have a different format because it is special? It’s obvious at a glance that someone is from Seoul National University. What kind of blind evaluation is this?” Baek criticized. He added, “I demanded improvements to the transcript format last year. Is it really conducting blind evaluations when the school can be identified just from the document format?”
In response, Seoul National University President Yoo Hong-rim stated, “We are continuously working on modifying the transcript format and have made recommendations to the Law School Association.”
Additionally, Rep. Baek pointed out that despite the law school setting a high weight of 40% for qualitative assessments, it has not disclosed specific evaluation criteria, which he argued encourages private education. “Because the university does not disclose information that it should, students end up paying for it. If there are disparities in the admissions preparation process based on information access and economic conditions, can students accept this as fair competition?” he questioned.
Meanwhile, the audit also addressed other key issues, including the 'Creating 10 Seoul National Universities' initiative to alleviate concentration in the metropolitan area, the transfer of Seoul National University Hospital to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and measures to enhance artificial intelligence capabilities for prospective teachers.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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