The exam bell rang 90 seconds early, and the candidate demanded nearly 400 million in compensation.

At least 39 students have filed a lawsuit with the Central District Court in Seoul (South Korea) asking the government to compensate each of them 20 million won (about 370 million VND) to cover the cost of retaking a year of study to retake the exam.

The incident occurred during this year's Suneung exam. This is a university entrance exam and is one of the most difficult exams in the world . Every year, about 50,000 Korean students take this exam.

The exam is usually held in mid-November every year and lasts for eight hours, hence the name "marathon". The results of the exam were announced on December 8.

According to the lawsuit, the bell signaling the end of the first exam on November 16 at Kyungdong High School rang 90 seconds earlier than scheduled.

Authorities said the reason was that the exam invigilator accidentally rang the bell to signal the end of the exam. After realizing the mistake, the school returned the exam papers to students during lunchtime to mark the blank columns on the papers and not to change the marked answers.

Responding to Yonhap news agency, Myungjin Law Firm said that this error affected the remaining exams of the candidates because they could not fully participate in the following exams. Some people gave up and returned home.

Local education officials also did not offer any apology or explanation, adding that the invigilators used their own devices instead of the state-appointed clocks.

In April 2023, a Seoul court ruled in favor of students who sued the state and city governments after the bell rang three minutes before the end of an exam. The students were awarded 7 million won (about 126 million VND) in compensation from the city government.

Dieu Anh (Source: Independent)