'You can tell it's Seoul National University at a glance — what kind of blind review is this?'

Questions have been raised about whether the blind review process used to select students for Seoul National University's law school is functioning as intended. Critics say the university's academic transcripts — issued in a horizontal format unlike those of other schools — make it easy to identify an applicant's alma mater even when identifying information is covered.

At a national audit of the National Assembly's Education Committee on Friday, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Baek Seung-a said 94 of the 152 students admitted to Seoul National University's law school this year — 61.8 percent — were Seoul National University graduates, and raised concerns about the transcript format.

While most universities issue transcripts in a vertical layout, Seoul National University uses a horizontal format. Critics argue that even when the university's name and logo are obscured, the distinctive layout still allows reviewers to identify applicants as Seoul National University graduates, undermining the purpose of blind evaluation.

"Does Seoul National University really need to use a different format from other schools just because it considers itself special?" Baek said. "You can tell it's Seoul National University at a glance. What kind of blind review is this?"

The transcript format issue was also raised at last year's national audit but has yet to be addressed. Seoul National University President Yoo Hong-lim said the matter "is still being worked on" and that the university had submitted a proposal to the law school association.

Concerns were also raised about qualitative assessments accounting for 40 percent of the law school admissions process, yet the specific evaluation criteria are not fully disclosed. The lack of transparency, critics said, pushes applicants to rely on private tutoring to prepare for oral examinations and other subjective components.

"Because universities are not disclosing information they should rightfully make public, students are paying to obtain it," Baek said. "If the preparation process itself is shaped by access to information and financial resources, can students really see this as fair competition?"

When asked to release the scoring breakdown and grading methodology for each qualitative assessment category, Yoo said he would "request that it be checked and confirmed."