K-Arts decides to deny admission of applicant with school violence record
Pyeon Jang-wan, president of the Korea National University of Arts, speaks during a plenary session of the parliamentary committee on culture, sports and tourism at the National Assembly in Seoul, Nov. 28. Yonhap
The Korea National University of Arts (K-Arts), one of Korea's top arts schools, has decided to take the unusual step of rescinding the admission of a successful applicant due to a past history of school violence, following growing public scrutiny.
The university announced Friday that its admissions policy committee reached the decision during a meeting held the previous day.
The 12-member panel comprising faculty members and external experts voted not to admit the student after a comprehensive review of the applicant's disciplinary record, its educational implications, and the need to safeguard the "safety and right to learning" of the broader university community, according to sources familiar with the matter.
K-Arts is expected to proceed with the necessary administrative procedures to formalize the decision.
The review was initiated after it was revealed that an applicant with a Level 4 school violence disposition — a disciplinary measure requiring mandatory community service and is officially recorded in the student's academic file — had been initially accepted for the 2026 academic year.
As a national university under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, K-Arts is required to reflect school violence records during the admissions process in line with education ministry guidelines. However, university officials acknowledged that the guidelines were not properly applied when admissions criteria for the 2026 academic year were finalized in March.
"We take seriously the situation in which an applicant who had been subject to school violence measures was admitted," an official said, addressing the lapse.