South Korean Universities Reject 45 Applicants Over School Violence Records as Wider Rules Approach

Disciplinary records are changing who gets into university

Six of South Korea's 10 flagship national universities rejected 45 applicants in the 2025 intake because of documented school violence, according to data compiled by the office of Rep. Kang Kyung-sook. Kyungpook National University accounted for 22 of those rejections, while Seoul National University turned away two applicants.

The decisions show how disciplinary history is becoming a more powerful part of university admissions. For students seeking entry to institutions that can shape careers, access to stable employment and social status, strong grades and test results may no longer be enough to overcome a record of harming classmates.

As of November 4, 2025, universities are preparing for a nationwide requirement to reflect school violence records in admissions from 2026. A further plan sets 2028 for their application across all admissions tracks, including routes based on essays, practical performance and the national university entrance examination.

Teacher training institutions are adopting particularly strict rules. Ten national universities of education have announced that any school violence record will lead to automatic disqualification from 2026, regardless of the severity of the sanction. Medical colleges and other teacher training programs are reviewing similar approaches.

The changes put student safety, responsibility and conduct alongside academic achievement. They also bring difficult decisions about how universities should weigh different offenses, how disciplinary decisions can be challenged and how applicants can demonstrate that their behavior has changed.

Where the 45 rejections occurred

The figures compiled by Kang's office show that the rejections were concentrated at six flagship national universities. Their individual totals were:

• Kyungpook National University: 22 applicants.
• Pusan National University: eight applicants.
• Kangwon National University: five applicants.
• Jeonbuk National University: five applicants.
• Gyeongsang National University: three applicants.
• Seoul National University: two applicants.

Kyungpook's 22 rejections represented nearly half of the total of 45. Its policy applies deductions across every admissions track, making disciplinary history relevant to applicants entering through different academic and talent routes.

Some national universities rejected no applicants over school violence in the 2025 cycle because they considered those records only in limited categories, such as admissions for student athletes. Other institutions applied deductions across most or all routes.

Seoul National University, Korea University, Hanyang University and other campuses began weighing school violence records in their screening for the 2025 intake. The consequences therefore already extend beyond the six institutions in the rejection figures, although the way records affect an application varies by campus.

Lawmakers have asked universities to publish clear criteria explaining how sanctions are assessed and how appeals work. For families, those details matter because a disciplinary record can produce different outcomes depending on the university and the admissions route.

How the nine levels of sanctions work

South Korea classifies school violence sanctions on a scale of nine levels. A written apology is the lightest sanction, while expulsion is the most severe. Levels 8 and 9 involve school transfer or expulsion.

More serious sanctions must be entered into a student's official school record, which admissions officers can review. Many entries remain on official documents for up to two years after graduation, while expulsion records are permanent.

Schools previously often tried to settle conflicts within the classroom. Teachers mediated between students, parents sought reconciliation and many incidents never became part of a formal record. The current approach gives documented misconduct consequences that can continue into university applications.

Universities decide how much weight to give a sanction. They may deduct points, assess conduct as part of a broader review or disqualify an applicant. A point deduction reduces an applicant's admissions score; disqualification removes the applicant from consideration regardless of other results.

The nationwide requirement makes disciplinary history part of admissions, but individual university rules remain central to understanding the likely result. Families need to know both what appears in a student's record and what the institution will do with that information.

Why Kyungpook's deductions had such an impact

Kyungpook National University introduced one of the toughest methods for translating disciplinary history into admissions scores. Its deductions rise sharply with the level of the sanction:

• Levels 1 to 3: a deduction of 10 points.
• Levels 4 to 7: a deduction of 50 points.
• Levels 8 and 9: a deduction of 150 points.

The university applies the policy to every admissions track. Those routes include academic excellence, local talent, essays, performance, athletic talent and the regular intake. Applicants therefore face the same disciplinary framework even when the academic or practical basis of their application differs.

The 22 applicants rejected at Kyungpook could not overcome the deductions. Their results illustrate how a conduct penalty can determine an admissions decision even when an applicant has other qualifications for consideration.

Kyungpook National University explained its approach in terms of its responsibility to the wider campus community:

This is not just personal misconduct. School violence is a breach of social trust. We believe universities have a responsibility to uphold community values.

Other universities introducing penalties or disqualification criteria have similarly referred to victims' rights, safe classrooms and the expectation that applicants accept responsibility for past conduct. University leaders adopting stronger rules describe their purpose as protecting trust as well as imposing consequences.

What changes in 2026 and 2028

South Korean universities divide admissions between early and regular intakes. Early admissions consider school records, teacher recommendations, interviews, extracurricular activities and essays. Regular admissions focus mainly on the College Scholastic Ability Test, the national examination known as the CSAT.

Conduct and discipline have previously mattered most in early admissions and much less in the intake centered on CSAT results. The policy shift brings school violence records into parts of admissions where examination performance has carried greater weight.

The education ministry and the Korean Council for University Education set the requirement for every university to reflect school violence records from 2026. A plan announced by the council sets 2028 for their application across all admissions tracks, including essays, practical performance and the regular intake centered on the CSAT.

The main dates in the policy's development are:

• 2023: A senior policing appointment was withdrawn after revelations that the appointee's son had bullied a classmate and still entered a top university with a small score deduction. The episode prompted a government review.
• 2025: Several prominent universities began weighing school violence records, and six flagship national universities rejected 45 applicants because of those records.
• 2026: Every university must reflect school violence records. Ten national universities of education plan automatic disqualification for applicants with any such record.
• 2028: The council's plan calls for school violence records to be reflected across all admissions tracks.

Universities must publish detailed admissions plans in advance. Those plans should show whether disciplinary records trigger disqualification, numerical deductions or qualitative ratings, in which admissions officers assess conduct as part of a broader judgment.

An admissions officer at a national university described the current cycle as the beginning of a wider change:

This is just the beginning. The bar is rising and school violence aggressors are expected to take more responsibility.

Teacher training colleges adopt the strictest rule

Ten national universities of education, including Seoul National University of Education, Busan National University of Education and Gyeongin National University of Education, have announced automatic disqualification from 2026 for applicants with any school violence record.

The rule applies regardless of severity. That makes it different from a system such as Kyungpook's, where the size of a deduction depends on the sanction level. At the education universities adopting the rule, any recorded school violence will block admission.

The stated aim is to ensure that future teachers meet a high standard of conduct in school and in the community. Their future responsibilities include working with children and maintaining safe classrooms.

Several medical colleges and other teacher training programs are studying similar rules, citing patient and classroom safety. Those reviews have not yet produced a settled policy in the account available as of November 4, 2025.

Why pressure for stronger action grew

Public concern about bullying has intensified over the past decade. Reports of student suicides tied to abuse, the spread of digital harassment and prominent allegations involving celebrities and public figures have increased pressure on schools to act.

A widely watched drama about a survivor of school bullying also kept the issue in public discussion. Together, these developments brought greater attention to the lasting harm experienced by victims and to the way institutions respond.

The withdrawn policing appointment in 2023 sharpened criticism of lenient admissions rules. The revelation that the appointee's son had bullied a classmate yet entered a top university after only a small score deduction helped prompt the government review that followed.

Teachers also describe a change in how school violence is understood. Kim, a high school teacher in Seoul, said conduct once treated as a dispute between individuals is now viewed through the rights of those harmed:

School violence used to be regarded as a personal conflict. Now it is treated as a violation of basic rights, and society is demanding long term accountability.

Kim said the effects on victims could continue well beyond their school years, and warned students that their own conduct could also have lasting consequences:

School bullying victims say their experiences affected them for a lifetime. School bullies should know their behavior in school may follow them into adulthood, and admissions officers are watching.

That concern underlies the argument for carrying records into admissions: a student's behavior toward classmates becomes part of the assessment of whether they should enter a new educational community.

Accountability brings disputes over fairness

Many educators and parents of victims welcome tougher admissions rules. They argue that firm consequences set a clear standard, protect students and bring university decisions into line with expectations about conduct within a community.

Parents, counselors and some civil liberties advocates have raised concerns about fairness. They question whether a single sanction can outweigh academic merit or genuine efforts to make amends, particularly when the consequences reach into a student's life after graduation.

Uneven enforcement between schools is another concern. Critics warn that vague incidents could escalate into formal sanctions without consistent due process, meaning clear procedures and a fair opportunity to challenge a decision. Others worry that a retained disciplinary record could restrict opportunities beyond university admission.

Schools report more disputes and administrative lawsuits as students challenge disciplinary decisions. Families increasingly hire lawyers during school proceedings, while teachers say a courtroom mindset makes it harder to resolve conflicts in classrooms.

Universities and the education ministry face pressure to balance deterrence with rehabilitation. Deterrence aims to discourage harmful behavior through consequences; rehabilitation gives students a chance to change their conduct. Clear guidance on appeals, record retention and what counts as improvement will matter to how that balance works.

The choice between automatic exclusion and a broader assessment is especially important here. A disqualification rule fixes the result once a qualifying record is present, while a qualitative review can consider growth alongside a sanction.

What students, parents and schools can do now

Students and families preparing applications need to examine the rules of each university and admissions track. A national requirement to consider records still leaves practical questions about scoring, eligibility and the treatment of individual sanctions.

Schools, parents and applicants can prepare by focusing on documentation, fair procedures, prevention and support:

• Learn the nine levels of sanctions and identify which are entered into the official school record that admissions officers can see.
• Ask for written procedures, timelines and appeal options as soon as an incident is reported. Keep copies of correspondence and decisions.
• Participate in counseling, special education or restorative programs when offered. Documentation of participation and progress can be considered in qualitative reviews.
• Keep records of positive behavior, service and leadership. Universities using qualitative assessments can weigh growth alongside disciplinary sanctions.
• Check teacher training admissions rules carefully. At the ten national universities of education adopting automatic disqualification, any school violence record will block admission from 2026.
• Victims and their families should use protection measures and support available through schools and districts, including no contact orders and counseling.

Applicants also need to read the detailed admissions plans universities publish in advance. Those documents explain whether the relevant route uses deductions, disqualification or a broader review, giving families a clearer basis for understanding their options.

The Bottom Line

• Six of South Korea's 10 flagship national universities rejected 45 applicants over school violence records in the 2025 intake.
• Kyungpook National University rejected 22 applicants after applying deductions of 10, 50 or 150 points according to sanction level.
• Every university must reflect school violence records from 2026. A further plan sets 2028 for application across all admissions tracks.
• Ten national universities of education have announced automatic disqualification for any school violence record from 2026.
• Sanctions range from a written apology to expulsion. Many entries remain for up to two years after graduation; expulsion records are permanent.
• Supporters cite safety, victims' rights and accountability. Critics seek fair procedures, consistent treatment and room for rehabilitation.
• Growing disputes and lawsuits are increasing pressure for clear admissions criteria, appeal procedures and rules on retained records.