President Moon Jae-in has called for the the overhaul of the current education system.
In a meeting this morning, he ordered a reform plan to be drawn up by next month... that reflects the public's call for a college admission system based more on objective criteria.
Park Hee-jun reports. President Moon Jae-in has instructed government officials to draw up a plan for the reform of the college admission system by November,... reflecting public calls for fairer practices in education.
"We cannot speak of innovation in education while evading the public's harsh evaluation that the education system is not fair. Regaining their trust through a fair education system is the most important education reform task at this time."
On Friday, President Moon held a meeting with relevant ministers in Seoul to reexamine the current college entrance system for the first time since taking office.
It comes just days after he highlighted its importance in his budget speech at the National Assembly earlier this week,... amid allegations that the daughter of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk used fake documents and family influence to get into college and graduate school.
The president pointed to the biggest problem being the overly high assessment of extracurricular achievements for college admission.
"I ask that you quickly come up with solutions to resolve the severe irregularities in the proportion of early and regular college admissions, beginning with major universities in Seoul, until trust in early admissions is formed."
Regular admissions focus more on College Scholastic Ability Test scores.
That means more transparency and less emphasis on non-academic activities like internships and volunteer work,... reducing the influence of powerful parents.
However, as the measures alone are insufficient,... President Moon says there also needs to be a way to ensure a more impartial screening of students' records.
He added that the system of preferential treatment for applicants from prestigious high schools should also be reviewed.
No specific plan came out of the meeting.
But the education ministry recommended an increase in the proportion of regular admissions to at least 30 percent for each university last year,... based on a survey by the public debate committee.
Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae, who was at the meeting,... said a plan to readjust the percentage will be ready by the November deadline.
Park Hee-jun, Arirang News.