428 Applicants Exceeded Six-Application Limit for Early Admissions... Duplicate Applications Due to 'Early Admissions System Outage' Excluded

KCUE Surveys Application Counts for 2027 Early Admissions
Average of 4.96 Early Admissions Applications per Applicant
Preventive Measures for Applicants Who Exceed the Six-Application Limit

Among applicants to the 2027 early admissions round, 428 exceeded the maximum of six applications.

On October 15, the Korean Council for University Education (KCUE) said that its analysis of application data from 210 general universities, including campuses, that held early admissions from July 6 to September 16 found that 527,717 applicants submitted a total of 2,614,903 applications. The average number of applications per applicant was 4.96.

A total of 428 applicants submitted more than six applications. This was an increase of 26, or 6.5%, from 402 last year.

Applicants and parents line up to enter the venue at the 2027 Academic Year Early University Admissions Information Fair, held at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on July 23, 2026. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

However, cases in which applicants unavoidably exceeded the six-application limit because of system disruptions during this early admissions application period were excluded from the count.

A KCUE official explained, "We did not consider applicants to be in violation if, for example, they initially tried to submit an application through Uway but, due to a system disruption, submitted it through another agency, Jinhaksa, and then made an additional application after the application deadline was extended."

Accordingly, the 428 applicants counted this time exceeded the limit on the actual number of applications, independently of any system disruptions.

The KCUE instructed universities where violations occurred to verify the cases and take measures such as canceling the applications.

A long line of students sitting college entrance exams and their parents forms outside the venue to enter the “2027 Early Admission College Information Fair,” held on the 23rd at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. July 23, 2026. Photo by Kang Jinhyung.

Under the current basic guidelines for university admissions, applicants may submit up to six applications in the early admissions round. Applications submitted from the seventh onward, in order of receipt, are not accepted, and admission is invalidated if a violation is confirmed. However, industrial universities, junior colleges, universities established under special laws, and admissions with flexible application periods are exempt from the application limit.

The KCUE plans to check for violations involving applications and enrollment in the regular and additional admissions rounds as well. It urged applicants to take care not to violate university application rules, including by applying to the regular or additional admissions rounds after being accepted through early admissions, submitting multiple applications within the same regular-admissions group, or enrolling at more than one university.

Applicants can verify their university application history and check for violations of application rules on the university admissions information portal Eodiga after completing identity verification.

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