The Ministry of Education and Korean Council for University Education are offering relief to applicants who were unable to complete their applications for next year’s university admissions because of an error in the application system shortly before the deadline.
According to the ministry on Sunday, up to 1,200 applicants may have been unable to complete their early admissions applications to universities across the country. A total of 2.61 million applications had been submitted for the admissions process, with the deadline set for 6 p.m. Friday.
The system error began at around 5:50 p.m. Friday. Uway Apply, the application agency, extended the deadline to 7 p.m., as the system continued to experience problems until around 6:20 p.m. However, some applicants said they did not receive notification of the extended deadline.
Under the exceptional measure, applicants may be allowed to complete their applications if they can prove they were unable to submit them because of the system error. Applicants who had to apply to other universities available through another application agency because of the error may also be eligible for relief.
Eligibility will be determined based on server records showing whether applicants had filled out, saved or attempted to submit their application forms, as well as whether they had attempted to make a payment before the 6 p.m. deadline.
Uway Apply will accept applications for relief until 6 p.m. Wednesday. Applicants who are instructed to reapply will be allowed to submit their applications until 10 p.m. that day.
The Education Ministry and KCUE said they also plan to thoroughly investigate the Uway Apply application system, including the cause and extent of the disruption.
They will consider seeking a criminal investigation or other legal action if necessary, while conducting a comprehensive review of the university application system and measures to prevent similar incidents from recurring, the ministry said.
forestjs@heraldcorp.com
