In an unprecedented server crash just before the deadline for the 2027 college admissions early application period, education authorities have decided to grant relief to 354 students. However, three students who checked competition rates during the one-hour extension and submitted applications were met with strict cancellation recommendations.
The Ministry of Education and the Korea Association of University Education (KACE) announced the results of the relief review and the investigation into unfair cases on the 17th, following the server outage of Uway Apply that occurred on the 11th.
Based on objective computer data (log records), the review confirmed that out of 1,588 relief applications, 354 were approved for final submission. Additionally, three cases were identified where students checked competition rates and then submitted applications during the extended time (6 PM to 7 PM), leading to recommendations for cancellation to the respective universities.
To prevent indiscriminate relief, the Ministry and KACE applied strict criteria, including the existence of error records at the time of the server outage (5:50 PM on the 11th) and the submission history for the relevant admissions process (writing, saving, submitting, and payment attempts).
Through this evaluation, 414 applications were identified as eligible for relief, with 354 completing the final procedures, including payment.
The Ministry explained, "Considering that 16 out of 116 universities that were supposed to close at 6 PM did not extend their deadlines, it was unavoidable to grant relief to those applicants who were deprived of the opportunity to apply."
The 354 approved applications were distributed across 40 universities and 306 programs. With the inclusion of these relief cases, the average competition rate for these 40 universities rose slightly from 9.634 to 9.635, indicating a minimal impact on admissions outcomes.
Individually, Kyungpook National University had the highest number of relief cases at 72, followed by Kyung Hee University with 51, Chung-Ang University with 48, Chonnam National University with 27, and Kookmin University with 26.
The Ministry emphasized, "There was no concentration of relief cases in specific programs."
One notable aspect of this action was the strong sanctions against what is referred to as 'vacancy raiding' (changing applications to programs with lower competition rates at the last minute).
According to the Ministry's investigation, although the server crash extended the application deadline to 7 PM, 17 universities, including Sungkyunkwan University, disclosed competition rates based on the original deadline of 6 PM. The Ministry conducted a detailed analysis of 39 applications submitted after the extension and confirmed three cases where students submitted applications after checking competition rates.
The Ministry stated, "These three cases were deemed to seriously undermine fairness among applicants and the integrity of the admissions process, leading us to recommend cancellation to the respective universities in collaboration with KACE."
With the initial response to the server outage concluded, education authorities plan to accelerate a thorough investigation and system overhaul of Uway Apply.
A special investigation team composed of the Ministry and KACE is currently conducting a detailed review of Uway Apply's system operations and management, and will take strict measures based on identified issues in accordance with relevant laws and contractual obligations.
Minister of Education Cho Kyoo-jin stated, "We prioritized fairness and equity in our actions to relieve affected students based on objective facts and computer data, while ensuring that no disadvantages arise for students who submitted their applications normally. We will also establish fundamental improvement measures to enhance the stability and reliability of the entire application system."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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