International schools in South Korea will face suspensions in enrollment if they are caught illegally admitting Korean students four times, the Education Ministry said Thursday.

The Education Ministry released revised regulations aimed to strengthen the control of illegal admissions at international schools here. There are currently 43 schools and three international kindergartens nationwide.

This is the first time the government has specified punishments against schools in cases of illegal admission. The students in question were dismissed from the school, but this was the only action taken.

The period of suspension will vary based on the number of breaches, ranging from six months up to a permanent suspension.

By law, international schools in Korea can only accept local and foreign students who have lived abroad for at least three years.

In 2014, more than half of students at an international school in Busan were found to have not spent sufficient time abroad.

By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)