A group of South Korean students has taken legal action against the government after their college admission examination concluded 90 seconds earlier than scheduled. The students are seeking compensation of 20 million won ($15,400) each, equivalent to the cost of a year’s study to retake the exam. The early conclusion affected the remaining sections of the exam for the students involved, according to their lawyer.
The college admission test, known as Suneung, is renowned for its difficulty and determines university placements and career opportunities in South Korea. The exam spans eight hours with consecutive papers in various subjects, and its significance extends to impacting future relationships. To facilitate concentration during the exam, measures such as closing the country’s airspace and delaying the stock market’s opening are implemented.
The lawsuit, filed by at least 39 students, alleges that an error occurred when the bell rang prematurely at a test site in Seoul during the Korean language section of the exam. Although the supervisors acknowledged the mistake and returned the one and a half minutes during the lunch break, students were only permitted to mark blank columns on their papers without altering existing answers.
The students claim that the disruption affected their focus for the rest of the exam, with some reportedly abandoning the test and returning home. Their lawyer, Kim Woo-suk, noted that education authorities have not issued an apology.
This incident echoes a similar case in April, where a court in Seoul awarded compensation to students who argued they were disadvantaged by an early bell during the 2021 Suneung exam. The officials attribute the early bell in this recent case to a misreading of the time by the supervisor at the specific test center.
Interestingly, ringing the bell too early during exams has prompted legal action in other countries, underscoring the high stakes associated with such standardized tests globally.
