CSAT Postponed

[Anchor Lead]

The college scholastic aptitude test, which Korean students were scheduled to take on Thursday, has been postponed to November 23 due to the earthquake in Pohang. It's exceptionally rare for the CSAT to be postponed on the eve of the test. The Ministry of Education says it has decided to push back the exam date to ensure students' safety and fairness.

[Pkg]

The college scholastic aptitude test, which was slated for Thursday, has been pushed back to November 23rd. Up until Wednesday evening, the Ministry of Education had said that the test would be held as scheduled, because damage caused by the earthquake in Pohang was not significant. However, it was later discovered that some of the exam venues in the city of Pohang had sustained severe damages, such as cracks in the walls. That made it impossible to hold the CSAT on schedule.

[Soundbite] Kim Sang-gon(Minister of Education) : "An inspection of 14 exam venues in Pohang has revealed that the buildings of many test venues have crevices."

The Education Ministry said that its decision to postpone the exam was also prompted by the continuing aftershocks, and that it wants to make sure that students feel stable both physically and mentally. The ministry said it decided to postpone the CSAT due to continuing reports of severe damages in Pohang in order to ensure fairness. It also took into consideration the safety of students and buildings, which may be jeopardized by the aftershocks. The ministry plans to inspect the safety of schools in Pohang and select new CSAT venues based on the results of the inspection. The postponement of the CSAT will likely cause delays in the announcement of test results and college entrance procedures.