Court halts Yonsei University admissions process over exam leak

The Seoul Western District Court on Friday accepted an injunction filed by students and parents to suspend the validity of Yonsei University’s early admissions entrance exam in October, following allegations that exam questions were leaked prior to the test.

The court ruled to “suspend the continuation of subsequent procedures” related to the early admissions exam until a ruling is made in a lawsuit demanding the exam be readministered.

The decision effectively halts the announcement of successful applicants, scheduled for Dec. 13, along with any other ensuing processes.

The court found that Yonsei University’s failure to properly manage and supervise the exam proctors created an environment conducive to cheating, and it ruled that the breach in fairness could not be blamed solely on the actions of some test-takers.

“This case fundamentally began with an error made by the proctors, where exam questions were distributed then collected at just one test site, ahead of the others,” the panel of judges said in a statement.

“Even after recalling the papers, the proctors did not take additional appropriate measures to prevent the potential external leakage of the questions or any other information related to the test.”

In response to the court’s decision, the Ministry of Education on Friday urged Yonsei University to “present an alternative which aligns with the court’s ruling” to make sure there “is no impact on this year’s admissions schedule.”

“Currently, Yonsei University is reportedly considering countermeasures, and it has been confirmed (to the Education Ministry) that an official notice will be issued once the measures are ready to be put in place,” stated the Education Ministry.

“The Ministry of Education will provide guidance and supervision to ensure that Yonsei University operates the admissions process in a lawful and fair manner.”

On Oct. 12, Yonsei University conducted its early admissions entrance exams, in which questions for the university's natural science track were leaked an hour before the exam as the proctor accidentally distributed the test papers before the scheduled test time.

Though the exam papers were recalled after 15 minutes, some students reportedly posted the questions online for prospective test-takers, while another test-taker also shared three test questions with a peer at a different location through the messaging function on Instagram.

So far, around 50 candidates who took the test that day have filed a joint lawsuit against Yonsei University, requesting the exam be readministered.