Presidential Office: "Yoon Did Not Order an Easy CSAT... Excludes Subjects Pushed to Private Education Like Integrated Types"

Yoon Orders Exclusion of Non-Public Education Subjects from CSAT Questions
Education Sector Questions Effectiveness Amid Expectations of 'Easy CSAT'

The Presidential Office clarified on the 16th that President Yoon Suk-yeol's instruction to Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, to "exclude content not taught in school classes from the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT)" was not about making the test 'easy' or 'difficult.'

The intention is to reduce private education expenses by excluding non-literary questions or interdisciplinary questions not covered in public education. However, as some criticized this as an order for an easier CSAT and questioned its effectiveness, the Presidential Office appears to have issued this explanation to preempt controversy.

Kim Eun-hye, Chief of Public Relations, explained in a written briefing that President Yoon reiterated the previous day, "Since fair discrimination is the essence of all exams, the test should maintain discrimination but exclude areas not covered in the public education curriculum," emphasizing that this was not an instruction for an 'easy CSAT.'

On the previous day, President Yoon received a report on the progress of education reform from Deputy Prime Minister Lee at the Yongsan Presidential Office. Separately from the report, President Yoon criticized the private education burden related to the CSAT, calling the inclusion of questions on content not taught in the curriculum a 'cartel between the education authorities and the private education industry.'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding this, President Yoon stated, "Although the public education curriculum covers certain areas, seeking private education to supplement school education is a matter of choice that the government cannot block. However, the inclusion of non-literary Korean questions not covered at all in the public education curriculum or interdisciplinary questions that schools cannot possibly teach is from the start pushing students toward private education by the education authorities, which is very unfair and unjust."

He added, "When people see this reality, they think the education authorities and the private education industry are in cahoots."

In the education sector, concerns are emerging that from the 2024 CSAT onward, so-called 'killer questions' will disappear, and subject-linked questions will decrease, making the test easier. There are worries that a single mistake could change a student's CSAT grade.

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