South Korean students sue the government after exam ended 90 seconds early

20 December 2023 , 13:01

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South Korean students wait to take the annual College Scholastic Ability Test at a Seoul school (Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Students in South Korea are taking the government to court a lawsuit after their eight-hour college admission exam ended 90 seconds earlier than it was supposed to.

Each student is asking for £12,000 - the same sum it would cost to study for a year in order to retake the exam. The error had far-reaching consequences, according to their lawyers, who say the rest of the students' exams are affected.

The test, which is infamous for the length of time it takes and its difficulty, takes eight hours of back-to-back papers in multiple subjects. It's widely accepted as one of the world's most difficult exams, with ultra-high stakes, including university placements, jobs and even future romantic relationships.

The entire country chips in, trying to help the students to concentrate, with the country's airspace closed and the stock market opening delayed. A number of measures to help students concentrate are taken during the annual event such as closing the country's airspace and delaying the opening of the stock market.

At least 39 students were signatories to the lawsuit filed on Tuesday, which accused the examiners of ringing the bell earlier than it was supposed to during the first paper, which was on Korean.

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Despite their immediate protests, the supervisors still removed their papers. But teachers realised just before the next session started and tried to rectify it by allowing the students one and a half minutes during the lunch break.

South Korean students wait to take the annual College Scholastic Ability Test, (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

However, the students were only allowed to mark the columns on the left of their papers and couldn't make any changes to questions they'd already answered. The students were left so enraged they claim they were unable to focus on the remainder of the exam, according to Yonhap news agency. Some of them called it a day and went straight home.

Kim Woo-suk, the lawyer representing the students, told local media that exam officials hadn't apologised for the blunder. Local media said the mistake was made by the supervisor who misread the time.

This isn't the first time similar cases have been brought before the Korean courts. Students were awarded £4,200 after claiming they were disadvantaged due to their bell ringing two minutes earlier. In China in 2012, an exam supervisor was slapped with a one-year suspended sentence because he rang the bell four minutes and 48 seconds early in Hunan.

Ryan Fahey