Ministry of Education Replaces Director in Charge of College Entrance Exams... Accountability for 'Difficult CSAT Mock Test'

The Ministry of Education has issued a disciplinary personnel action regarding the June mock exam, which did not align with the intention of an 'easier College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT)'.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 16th, the Ministry of Education announced a personnel change, placing Lee Yunhong, Director General in charge of university admissions and Talent Policy Planning Officer, on standby, and appointing Shim Mincheol, Digital Education Planning Officer, as his successor. Since January, Director Lee had been responsible for key tasks related to nurturing talent in advanced fields such as semiconductors, supporting academic research in humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, as well as university entrance exams including the CSAT.

This is interpreted as a disciplinary personnel action related to President Yoon Seok-yeol’s directive for an 'easier CSAT.' When receiving a report on education reform progress from the Deputy Prime Minister the day before, President Yoon stated, "Questions on topics not covered in the public education curriculum should be excluded from the CSAT." This is understood as an instruction to lower the overall difficulty of the CSAT. The Deputy Prime Minister explained, "Although it is a fundamental statement, it is seen as raising an issue about parts that have not been well observed so far," and added, "We will ensure that the questions are designed so that students can solve them by diligently following their classes."

It is known that President Yoon has been giving such instructions to the Deputy Prime Minister since early this year. However, since the June mock exam was set more difficult than planned, responsibility appears to have been assigned accordingly. The CSAT and mock exams are created by the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation under the commission of the Ministry of Education.

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