4 top science, technology schools reject all applicants with record of bullying

All applicants with records of school bullying were rejected in the 2026 early admissions rounds at the country’s four major science and technology institutes, including the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.

The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology campus in the central city of Daejeon. [YONHAP]

All applicants with records of school bullying were rejected in the 2026 early admissions rounds at the country’s four major science and technology institutes, including the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (Kaist).

Data submitted to Democratic Party Rep. Hwang Jung-a, a member of the National Assembly’s Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, showed that every early admissions applicant who received point deductions for a school bullying record failed to gain admission at Kaist, the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) and the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology (DGIST).

At Kaist, 12 early admissions applicants were penalized for school bullying records, and all 12 were rejected. At GIST and UNIST, two and one applicant, respectively, received deductions and were rejected.

At DGIST, applicants who were subject to disciplinary measures No. 4 through No. 9 for school violence — ranging from community service to expulsion — were not allowed to apply in the first place.

“School bullying leaves lifelong scars on victims, and it must not be dismissed as a youthful mistake,” Hwang said, adding that point deductions in college admissions were not meant to punish or brand applicants but to teach perpetrators that they must take responsibility for wrongdoing.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom. BY HYEON YE-SEUL [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]