Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok, left, and Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Chang-yong smile as Rhee visits the finance ministry in Sejong City, Monday, for a meeting on structural reform. Yonhap

Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Rhee Chang-yong said selecting college first-year students based solely on grades is not the fairest approach to college admissions.

“No matter where you go in the world, universities select first-year students based on diversity, while in Korea, there is a prevailing belief that selecting students solely based on their grades is the fairest approach,” Lee said during his visit to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Monday.

He made the comments in explaining the controversy over the BOK's earlier suggestion that top universities, such as Seoul National University, should voluntarily allocate admissions quotas based on regional school-age population ratios.

Highlighting the inheritance of socioeconomic status, the central bank said in its report on Aug. 27 that institutions offering private education have been concentrated in certain areas, such as the affluent district of Gangnam in Seoul.

It pointed out that the amount and quality of education that students can receive now depends heavily on the income level of their parents and where they live, and that this disparity has led to differences in the rate of admission to top universities.

This proposal was made as part of measures to address today's astronomical housing prices in Seoul, especially in the Gangnam area, but sparked controversy, being deemed unconstitutional by some critics who accused it of reverse discrimination against students from Gangnam.

Regarding this, Lee clarified that the BOK report should not be misunderstood as stating that living in Gangnam is wrong.

“Each university already selects about 20 percent of students based on regional representation. Since this alone doesn't resolve the issue, we need to take a broader perspective,” he said.

“Parents in Gangnam sacrifice their careers for their children's education or spend a lot of time commuting with their kids. They should reflect on whether their children are truly happy.”

Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok echoed Lee's sentiment, expressing his gratitude to the central bank for “raising the issue, as Korean society has various challenges that need to be publicized and discussed.”

Lee's visit to the finance ministry was in response to Choi's visit to the BOK in February.

This is the first time the head of the central bank, who has maintained a delicate tension with the government based on the independence of monetary policy, has visited the finance ministry.

Commenting on this, Choi said, “If we view the relationship between the BOK and the finance ministry as one characterized by independence and some tension, I believe this visit marks a clear transition to establishing them as independent yet close collaborative partners.”