[Exclusive] Government Grants Exceptions for Special Admission and Leave for Families of Overseas Employees Stranded Due to COVID-19

Possibility of Disqualification from Special Overseas Korean Admission if Domestic Stay Prolonged
Cancellation of Leave and Domestic Return Orders for Education Officials on Long-Term Stay
Economic Groups Including KCCI Convey Expatriate Family Requests to Government
Education Ministry to Recognize 'Exceptional Cases' and Ensure No Disadvantages

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyewon] The government has decided to temporarily allow exceptions to university special admissions and civil servant leave regulations only for families of expatriates stranded in Korea due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This special measure comes in response to the surge in cases where individuals who temporarily returned from overseas immediately after the outbreak of COVID-19 have been forced to stay long-term in Korea due to entry restrictions imposed by countries around the world.

According to the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and the Ministry of Education on the 6th, the KCCI and the Korea International Trade Association confirmed that on the 28th of last month, they proposed exceptions regarding special admissions and leave for families of overseas expatriates to the Ministry of Education’s Teacher Policy Division and University Admission Policy Division. The KCCI also submitted a proposal with the same content to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance’s Innovation Growth Ombudsman on the 2nd.

This is because the KCCI received complaints from companies that Korean nationals who temporarily returned from overseas and are forced to stay long-term in Korea due to entry restrictions related to COVID-19 inevitably face disadvantages under the current domestic system. As of now, 102 countries have implemented entry restrictions targeting Koreans related to COVID-19.

Under the current Higher Education Act in Korea, if the overseas academic schedule and length of stay conditions are not met, applicants cannot apply for special admissions to domestic universities. Regarding this, the Korean Council for University Education standardized the qualifications for overseas Koreans’ special admissions in the '2021 University Admission Guidelines' last year. According to this, the overseas worker’s employment period is generally 3 years (1095 days) or more, the student’s overseas enrollment period must be 3 years or more in middle and high school courses (including one year of high school), and the overseas stay days must be at least three-quarters of the enrollment period for students (and at least two-thirds for parents) to be eligible to apply.

Education officials who took leave due to their family’s overseas expatriate assignment have also faced leave cancellation situations. This is because personnel management regulations require that if an education official on leave due to a spouse’s overseas assignment stays long-term in Korea, their leave is canceled and they are ordered to return to domestic duty. While general administrative officials can continue their leave by not issuing assignment orders even if there are reinstatement regulations, the regulations for education officials are stricter.

A senior government official stated, "After discussions at the pan-government level including the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Personnel Management, it was decided to recognize special admissions and leave cases for expatriate families who cannot depart overseas on time due to COVID-19 as exceptions to prevent disadvantages." Accordingly, the Ministry of Education is closely consulting with the Korea Council for University Education on revising regulations, and it is expected that completing the administrative procedures will take considerable time.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.