Due to a system failure at UwayApply, the agency handling applications for the 2027 academic year’s early college admissions, the deadline was extended, resulting in 3,184 additional applications being submitted to 80 universities. On September 30, the Ministry of Education disclosed these additional application figures, announced that it would extend the special investigation period for UwayApply, and stated that it would form a joint task force (TF) to ensure the smooth operation of the regular admissions process.
According to the Ministry’s analysis of data received from the application processing agency, out of the 116 universities that had planned to close applications at 6:00 p.m. on September 11, 100 extended their deadlines due to system errors. Of these, 80 universities actually received additional applications.
The additional applications totaled 3,184 across 1,781 admission units (selection tracks) at the 80 universities, averaging 1.79 applications per admission unit. Of these, 2,329 cases (73.1%) were applications that were in progress when the system error occurred and for which error logs were recorded. The remaining 855 cases included instances where users could not log in at all due to the error, resulting in no computer records being generated.
There was no significant change in the competition ratio. The average competition ratio for the 80 universities that accepted additional applications rose by 0.22%, from 10.25 to 1 to 10.27 to 1, as of 6:00 p.m. The average competition ratio for the 1,781 admission units that accepted additional applications rose by 0.74%, from 13.66 to 1 to 13.76 to 1.
Of the admission units, 1,244 (69.8%) received only one additional application. There were 333 units with two additional applications, 106 with three, 37 with four, and 43 units (273 applications) with five to nine additional applications. Eighteen programs received 10 or more additional applications, totaling 535, with the surge concentrated in essay- and practical-skill-based admissions tracks that were already highly competitive. The competition ratio for these admission units rose by 1.79%—from 34.12 to 1 to 34.73 to 1—marking the largest fluctuation. Among the 17 universities that disclosed their final competition ratios during the extension period, all admission units received two or fewer additional applications, with a total of 39 applications submitted across 35 admission units.
The Ministry of Education explained that this extension was a measure to minimize harm to students who were not at fault due to a system failure just before the deadline, and that it was carried out with the consent of each university in accordance with the system failure response manual. However, the ministry stated that it takes the controversies regarding fairness and equity very seriously and announced that it would conduct a comprehensive review of the relevant systems and strengthen the management of manuals and systems.
The Ministry of Education plans to extend its special investigation into UwayApply to thoroughly examine not only the cause of the system failure but also the overall operation of the application system, stability measures, and management procedures. The schedule for the additional investigation will be determined based on the analysis of the initial investigation results, and the Ministry plans to identify the causes and assign responsibility before presenting comprehensive improvement measures.
Furthermore, to prevent similar confusion during the 2027 academic year’s regular admissions period, which begins on January 4 of next year, the Ministry will operate a joint task force with the Korean Council for University Education and the private contractor starting September 30. The task force will thoroughly review the private contractor’s service operations from the ground up, establish contingency plans—including manuals, communication systems, and simulation drills—to prepare for potential disruptions, and develop measures to improve the method for disclosing final competition rates.
