President Yoon on Yonsei University's 'Essay Leak' Controversy: "Thoroughly Punish Those Responsible"

Request to Education Minister to Investigate Situation at Cabinet Meeting
Emphasis on Importance of ASEAN Following Last Week's Tour
Cabinet Members Urged to "Communicate and Exchange with ASEAN"

President Yoon Suk-yeol is speaking at the Cabinet meeting held on the 15th at the Yongsan Presidential Office Building in Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

President Yoon Suk-yeol on the 15th addressed allegations of poor exam management during the early admission process at some universities, including Yonsei University, stating, "Hold those responsible strictly accountable and take stern measures to prevent recurrence of the incident."

President Yoon made these remarks during closing comments at the Cabinet meeting held at the Yongsan Presidential Office that morning, asking Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho to investigate the situation, according to a written briefing by presidential spokesperson Jeong Hye-jeon.

The president's comments appear to be aimed at the controversy over the leakage of questions from Yonsei University's early admission essay exam.

On the 12th, at one of the exam rooms where Yonsei University's essay exam was held, the exam papers were mistakenly distributed about an hour before the exam started due to an invigilator's error and then collected, raising suspicions that some of the questions were leaked online during this process.

Additionally, at Hansung University on the 13th, during the ICT Design Department's early admission practical excellence exam, photo materials were distributed 40 minutes after the exam started in one exam room, causing controversy.

At the Cabinet meeting that day, President Yoon also urged to continue the momentum from last week's ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) tour.

President Yoon emphasized, "The ASEAN region, including the Philippines and Singapore, is now being newly recognized as the center of the Indo-Pacific region in terms of geopolitical and strategic value," adding, "All advanced countries around the world are paying attention to ASEAN, and many top leaders are visiting to engage in dialogue."

He continued, "ASEAN countries are experiencing rising income levels and expanding markets," and said, "From ASEAN's perspective, Korea is considered an important dialogue partner due to its large market size, close proximity, and similar sentiments, so we will seek various cooperation measures with ASEAN countries."

Furthermore, President Yoon told Cabinet members, "Communicating and exchanging with government officials from ASEAN countries will be educational and will create many new opportunities."