By Jhoo Dong-chan
The Ministry of Education will launch an investigation into the admission process of the nation's 25 law schools, amid allegations of admissions fraud involving children of high-ranking officials and law professors.
According to the ministry, Tuesday, from now until the end of January it will check into whether each law school has a legitimate admission system and whether students have been admitted fairly to the schools.
This is the first time for the ministry to inspect the schools' admissions procedures since the law school system was introduced in 2007, although they have checked whether schools keep to licensing conditions every year.
Based on the findings of the investigation, the ministry said it will strengthen fairness and transparency in law school admissions in the first half of next year.
The inspection comes amid suspicions and rumors about admissions fraud involving high-ranking officials.
It is suspected that high-profile figures or law professors can influence interview results, which account for about 30 percent of the total admission score -- the remainder comes from a written test, language skills and essays.
During the National Assembly's audit into the government in October, Rep. Yoo Ki-Hong of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) claimed that Pusan National University Law School allegedly granted admission to three students whose fathers were professors there.
The university refused to disclose related documents.
Some students also claimed last week that six law schools have committed similar irregularities, calling for the schools to release admissions-related documents.
It was also alleged that Rep. Shin Ki-nam of the NPAD attempted to exercise influence on behalf of his son who failed the graduation exam at Kyung Hee University Law School, as well as for his daughter's graduation at Inha University Law School. Shin denied both allegations.
The government inspection will also look into disputes over the state-administered bar exam, which the government had initially planned to abolish by 2017 but recently decided to keep until 2021.
Until 2009, the state exam was the only way to get a license to practice law in Korea. But the government introduced a U.S.-style law school system to replace the exam, setting up 25 law schools nationwide.
Due to the high tuition fees, however, it has been alleged that law schools are only for students with wealthy and powerful families. With various problems and allegations emerging, the government recently decided to retain the bar exam until 2021.
The Ministry of Education will launch an investigation into the admission process of the nation's 25 law schools, amid allegations of admissions fraud involving children of high-ranking officials and law professors.
According to the ministry, Tuesday, from now until the end of January it will check into whether each law school has a legitimate admission system and whether students have been admitted fairly to the schools.
This is the first time for the ministry to inspect the schools' admissions procedures since the law school system was introduced in 2007, although they have checked whether schools keep to licensing conditions every year.
Based on the findings of the investigation, the ministry said it will strengthen fairness and transparency in law school admissions in the first half of next year.
The inspection comes amid suspicions and rumors about admissions fraud involving high-ranking officials.
It is suspected that high-profile figures or law professors can influence interview results, which account for about 30 percent of the total admission score -- the remainder comes from a written test, language skills and essays.
During the National Assembly's audit into the government in October, Rep. Yoo Ki-Hong of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) claimed that Pusan National University Law School allegedly granted admission to three students whose fathers were professors there.
The university refused to disclose related documents.
Some students also claimed last week that six law schools have committed similar irregularities, calling for the schools to release admissions-related documents.
It was also alleged that Rep. Shin Ki-nam of the NPAD attempted to exercise influence on behalf of his son who failed the graduation exam at Kyung Hee University Law School, as well as for his daughter's graduation at Inha University Law School. Shin denied both allegations.
The government inspection will also look into disputes over the state-administered bar exam, which the government had initially planned to abolish by 2017 but recently decided to keep until 2021.
Until 2009, the state exam was the only way to get a license to practice law in Korea. But the government introduced a U.S.-style law school system to replace the exam, setting up 25 law schools nationwide.
Due to the high tuition fees, however, it has been alleged that law schools are only for students with wealthy and powerful families. With various problems and allegations emerging, the government recently decided to retain the bar exam until 2021.
