Proposals to abolish the university entrance exam in Asia's most exam-oriented nation.

According to The Korea Herald , at a press conference last week, Jung Geun-sik, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Education Office, argued that fierce competition for grades, the burden of tuition fees, and a public education system dominated by enrollment and ranking goals have distorted the meaning of learning.

"Those things no longer guarantee a future for our children," he said, emphasizing that if university admissions remain unchanged, all reform efforts at the secondary level will continue to be "blocked" at the university entrance.

Three-stage roadmap

The reform plan proposed by the Seoul Education Office is designed in three phases, spanning from now until 2040.

The first phase applies to students entering university in 2028 (i.e., those participating in the 2027 admissions process). The focus of this phase is to adjust the grading system within schools.

Specifically, Jung proposed shifting from a relative grading system to a perfect-grade system for career-oriented and interdisciplinary elective courses, aiming to help students choose subjects based on their abilities and future aspirations, rather than chasing after "easy-to-get-good" courses.

Meanwhile, he called for the repeal of the 2022 recommendation from the Ministry of Education, which mandated that universities in Seoul allocate 30-40% of their enrollment quotas to new students based on Suneung scores.

He also proposed expanding the admissions process to be more balanced across regions, prioritizing students from outside the capital area, while restricting the early admissions rights of students attending specialized schools such as autonomous private schools, foreign language schools, international schools, and science and gifted schools.

According to Jung, these short-term solutions are intended to replace the Ministry of Education's 2028 college entrance exam plan, which narrowed the Suneung exam to only four subjects and which he considered "off track".

Director of the Department of Education.jpg — Jung Geun-sik, Director of Seoul Metropolitan Education Office, presented a plan to reform South Korea's university admissions system at a press conference on December 10. (Photo: *Yonhap)*

Shifting focus to profile evaluation.

The next phase targets students entering university in 2033. At this point, Jung proposes applying a maximum score to all high school subjects and Suneung exams, while significantly expanding the types of short-answer and essay questions.

The early enrollment and regular enrollment systems will be merged, along with adjustments to the curriculum so that high schools can organize more flexible semesters, linked to career orientation for final-year students.

According to this model, university admissions will shift the focus to evaluating academic records, thereby bringing secondary education back to the goal of developing competencies, rather than a race to pass exams.

The Suneung exam would then be merely a supplementary element, graded on a five-point absolute scale, replacing the current nine-point relative scale. A new version of the exam is planned for a trial run in 2032 with 11th-grade students.

In schools, the proportion of short-answer and essay questions in tests will also gradually increase, from 25% in 2026 to 50% in 2030.

To ensure fairness and objectivity, the Seoul Education Office is developing an AI-powered grading system, in which the AI grades assignments first, and teachers then review and cross-check the results.

Vision 2040: End the Suneung University entrance exam.

The plan's long-term goal is sweeping reforms by 2040, including the complete abolition of the Suneung exam and the end of the autonomous private high school model.

According to Jung, by 2040, the number of high school students in South Korea is projected to be only half of what it is today, making selection based primarily on exams no longer appropriate. Instead, university admissions will be based on the holistic development of students throughout their high school years.

Universities retain autonomy in admissions, but may supplement it with interdisciplinary interviews or essays, built from a common question bank.

To mitigate disparities between different types of schools when transitioning to a grading system, the Seoul Education Office proposed converting autonomous private schools, foreign language schools, and international schools into regular high schools, while still maintaining their specialized curricula.

In addition, it has been proposed that class sizes at autonomous private schools, currently commonly at 35 students per class, be gradually reduced to match those of public schools, in order to alleviate the pressure caused by the sharp decline in student numbers.

There are still many unknowns.

However, Jung acknowledged that the implementation of the plan still has many uncertainties, as the final decision rests with the National Education Commission.

"We are not the decision-makers, but listening to voices from educational practice and proposing new initiatives is the responsibility of the head of the local education sector," he said.

According to him, the proposal will be submitted to the National Education Committee; informal discussions have taken place and a final decision is expected in February 2026, after consultation with the Ministry of Education and relevant parties.

This plan was developed after nearly a year of discussions with teachers, researchers, and admissions officers. “I hope this vision will be widely debated nationwide and soon become a reality,” Jung said.

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