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On the 31st (local time), the U.S. Supreme Court began hearings on a constitutional challenge to affirmative action. On that day, students and activists held signs supporting minority consideration policies in front of the Supreme Court and staged a protest. Photo by AP Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Sung-wook] The United States has begun to examine the constitutionality of the university admission policy known as 'Affirmative Action,' which considers minority groups such as Black people.

On the 31st (local time), the U.S. Supreme Court held hearings on constitutional challenges filed by Students for Fair Admissions (SFA) against the University of North Carolina and Harvard University, claiming that white and Asian applicants were discriminated against under this policy. According to the Washington Post and others, Patrick Strawbridge, the attorney representing SFA, argued during the hearing that "classification based on race is wrong" and urged the Supreme Court to overturn the existing precedent that allows race to be one of the evaluation factors.

SFA stated that Harvard University violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, skin color, or national origin in programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance, by discriminating against Asian American applicants. Regarding the University of North Carolina, SFA pointed out that it violated the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, which guarantees equal protection under the law, by discriminating against white and Asian applicants.

SFA first filed the lawsuit in 2014, but it was dismissed in all lower courts. At that time, the courts referred to existing Supreme Court precedents that universities cannot allocate quotas by race or determine racial distribution according to mathematical formulas, but may consider race as a limited factor to promote campus diversity.

The Supreme Court has previously ruled in three cases that university admission policies that consider race as one of several factors, alongside academic achievements and other criteria, to give preference to qualified minority applicants are constitutional.

However, attention is focused on whether the Supreme Court's ruling might change following the shift to a conservative majority of 6 to 3 during former President Trump's administration. Earlier, the Supreme Court overturned abortion rights, which had been upheld since the 1973 'Roe v. Wade' decision, in June of this year.

The Biden administration supports policies favoring minority groups. In December last year, the U.S. Department of Justice urged the Supreme Court to uphold the lower court's ruling, stating that Harvard considered race for the purpose of encouraging diversity on campus.

The Supreme Court accepted the plaintiffs' appeal in January last year and decided to hear the case. The final ruling, expected in June next year, will determine whether 'Affirmative Action' will remain in place.

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