"Suneung Killer Questions, Even Practicing Lawyers Sweat"… Kim Gwangdu "Fury Boils Up"

High-Intensity Criticism of CSAT 'Killer Questions'
"Are There High School Students Who Can Solve Such Level of Problems?"

Kim Kwang-doo, chairman of the Korea Institute for Future Strategies, sharply criticized the so-called 'killer questions,' which are high-difficulty problems on the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), saying they are "at a level even lawyers find difficult."

Kim Kwang-doo, Chairman of the National Future Research Institute.

On the 19th, Chairman Kim posted a capture of a past CSAT question on his Facebook (SNS) account. The question was number 40 from the 2020 CSAT Korean language section (odd version), asking about the 'risk-weighted assets according to the BIS capital adequacy ratio.'

The BIS (Bank for International Settlements) capital adequacy ratio refers to the ratio of a bank's capital to its risk-weighted assets (non-performing loans) as defined by the BIS. It is one of the standards used to assess a bank's financial soundness.

Regarding this, Chairman Kim said, "This is a difficult question requiring economic knowledge, but they ask students to solve it in the Korean language test," adding, "I was dumbfounded and angered. Is there any high school student who can solve such a high-difficulty problem without the help of top instructors?"

Image posted by Kim Kwang-doo, Chairman of the National Future Research Institute. [Image source=Kim Kwang-doo Facebook]

He continued, "To understand the BIS ratio, one must be familiar with concepts like capital and risk-weighted assets, which also vary according to the Basel 1, 2, and 3 accords," and criticized, "Including this in a Korean language exam for high school graduates is excessive." Basel refers to agreements aimed at preventing financial crises, with Basel 3 established after the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis.

Also, on the same day, Chairman Kim explained in a phone interview with CBS Radio's 'Park Jae-hong's One-on-One Match' that "there is a study group, and a lawyer in the group posted this question saying 'this is really difficult,'" adding, "That's how I came to know about the killer question." This implies that the CSAT killer questions have become so difficult that even practicing lawyers struggle with them.

Regarding this, Chairman Kim said, "The severe conflicts in our society arise because of significant differences in ownership between classes," and added, "What can deepen these conflicts is that wealthy people receive good education while those without money cannot."

In response to concerns that removing killer questions might lead to a 'watered-down CSAT,' he countered, "The SAT, the American college entrance qualification test, has many perfect scorers," and said, "Universities select students in their own ways based on that. Considering that method, does it make sense to talk about a watered-down CSAT or not?"

He urged, "The Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation and the Educational Development Institute should create questions that can differentiate students based on what is taught in public education, and it is certainly possible to do so."

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