School Violence Deliberation Cases Hit Record High, Reflected in College Admissions

The number of deliberation cases for school violence disciplinary actions has reached an all-time high of 7,646. The number of cases has increased year-over-year, from 5,834 in 2023, to 7,446 in 2024, and 7,646 in 2025.

These increased school violence-related records will be mandatorily reflected in college admissions starting from the 2026 academic year for all schools, impacting students' application processes. This is a result of increased reporting and deliberations at schools, with school violence disciplinary measures being mandatorily reflected in all admission tracks from the 2026 academic year. The rise in school violence deliberation cases stems from all universities beginning to mandatorily reflect school violence disciplinary actions in both early (susi) and regular (jeongsi) admission tracks, in accordance with the Ministry of Education's guidelines, starting with the 2026 academic year.

By type of deliberation, verbal abuse accounted for the largest proportion at 32.5%, followed by physical violence at 25.6%. Cyberbullying comprised 13.4%. The type showing the highest rate of increase was coercion, which rose by 29.2% compared to 2024.

An official from Jongro Academy explained that as the high school grading system is reorganized into a 5-tier system from the 2028 academic year, increasing the possibility of ties among students, and as major universities are strengthening student record evaluations in both early and regular admissions, school violence incidents could negatively impact college applications. From the 2028 academic year, major universities will strengthen student record evaluations in both early and regular admission tracks.