No bully zone: South Korean universities rejects applicants with history of school violence

By Minh Nga November 11, 2025 | 05:03 am PT

Students wait to take the annual College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), a nationwide university entrance exam, at a school in Seoul, South Korea in 2021. Photo by Reuters

Major South Korean universities have begun rejecting applicants involved in school violence, marking an unprecedented shift toward stricter accountability in the country's education system.

According to data from lawmaker Kang Kyung-sook's office, six out of ten national flagship universities excluded a total of 45 applicants from this year's admissions due to records of school violence.

Seoul National University (SNU) rejected two candidates, while Kyungpook National University disqualified as many as 22, The Korea Herald reported.

"This is just the beginning," one admissions officer told the news site. "The bar is rising and (school violence aggressors) are expected to take more responsibility."

School-violence sanctions in South Korea are classified on a scale from Level 1 (written apology) to Level 9 (expulsion). According to the Ministry of Education, sanctions at Level 6 and above must now be documented on a student's permanent record, though universities retain discretion in how they weigh these entries.

Kyungpook National University, for example, implemented some of the toughest rules to date, with penalties ranging from 10-point deductions for minor infractions to a 150-point penalty for expulsion cases. None of the 22 rejected applicants were able to offset these penalties.

"This isn't just personal misconduct. School violence is a breach of social trust," the university said in a statement obtained by The Korea Herald. "We believe universities have a responsibility to uphold community values."

The trend is spreading. Ten national education universities—including Gyeongin, Busan, and Seoul—have announced that starting next year, they will automatically disqualify any applicant with a record of school violence, regardless of severity.

The two rejected students at SNU had applied through the regular admissions track, which primarily relies on scores from the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT). Despite their high academic performance, their history of school violence led to their disqualification, according to Korea JoongAng Daily.

Starting next year, all universities in Korea will be required to implement mandatory deductions for applicants with school violence records, regardless of the admission type, the paper said.