Explosion in School Violence Reviews at Autonomous and International High Schools... Disciplinary Actions Decline

"More Review Requests Likely Due to College Admission Disadvantages"

As the number of school violence (bullying) review cases at high schools nationwide continues to rise, data shows that the figure surpassed 7,600 last year.

According to Yonhap News Agency on May 31, an analysis by Jongro Academy of "School Info" revealed that the number of school violence review cases at 2,397 high schools nationwide reached 7,646 last year. This is an increase of 200 cases compared to the previous year.

A performance is taking place ahead of the press conference for the 2026 School Violence Survey held at the Green Tree Foundation in Seoul on the 19th. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

When dividing the cases into three regions (Seoul, Gyeongin, and other regions), Seoul saw the highest rate of increase in review cases at 5.3%. Other regions recorded a 3.6% increase, while the Gyeongin area saw a 0.6% increase, respectively.

By school type, the increase in review cases was particularly notable at special-purpose high schools and autonomous private high schools, with a rate of 15.2%. In particular, international high schools recorded 13 cases of school violence reviews last year, more than doubling from 6 cases the previous year. Nationwide autonomous private high schools also saw cases rise to 34, more than double the 16 cases in the previous year. In addition, foreign language high schools recorded an 8.3% increase, and regional autonomous private high schools saw a 7.7% increase. On the other hand, review cases at science high schools decreased by 19.4% and gifted high schools by 16.7%. General high schools recorded a total of 5,059 review cases, with an annual growth rate of 3.4%.

Looking at the types of school violence reviews, verbal abuse accounted for the largest share with 3,753 cases (32.5%). This was followed by physical violence at 2,952 cases (25.6%), cyberbullying at 1,546 cases (13.4%), sexual violence at 1,253 cases (10.8%), coercion at 531 cases (4.6%), extortion at 470 cases (4.1%), and ostracism at 413 cases (3.6%).

School violence disciplinary actions are classified into nine levels according to severity: ▲Written apology (Category 1) ▲Prohibition of contact, threats, or retaliation (Category 2) ▲School service (Category 3) ▲Community service (Category 4) ▲Psychological counseling (Category 5) ▲Suspension (Category 6) ▲Class change (Category 7) ▲Transfer (Category 8) ▲Expulsion (Category 9). Starting from the 2027 academic year, major universities such as Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and Korea University plan to impose disadvantages even for the lowest-level disciplinary action, the written apology (Category 1).

Notably, while the number of school violence review cases increased, the number of actual disciplinary actions decreased by 2.7% compared to the previous year. Regarding this, Jongro Academy commented, "As universities have imposed stricter disadvantages for school violence in college admissions, the number of students requesting reviews because they believe they have been adversely affected has increased. However, the number of actual disciplinary actions has decreased," adding, "Both victims and perpetrators are facing difficulties related to school violence."

The academy further stressed, "From the 2028 academic year, both early and regular admission reviews at major universities will place greater emphasis on students' records. Test-takers should be aware that school violence-related matters could have an even more serious impact on college admissions."

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