The government will adjust work start times, restrict traffic around test sites and curb noise on the day of the 2027 College Scholastic Ability Test, Korea's national college entrance exam.
The Ministry of Education said Education Minister Choi Kyo-jin reported the support measures to a Cabinet meeting on the 20th.
This year's exam will run from 8:40 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. on Nov. 19 at 1,312 test sites across 85 testing districts. A total of 551,864 students are expected to sit the exam, down 2,310 from a year earlier. For test-takers granted accommodations, including those with severe visual impairments, the exam will end at 9:48 p.m.
To ease traffic congestion, the government will ask public offices and companies to push back work start times to 10 a.m. or later. Subway service in the greater Seoul area will be increased between 6 a.m. and 8:10 a.m., when most students travel to test sites, and emergency transport vehicles from police stations and other government agencies will be deployed along student routes.
Vehicles will be barred from entering within 200 meters of test sites on exam day to prevent congestion. Students arriving by car will have to get out 200 meters away and walk the rest of the way.
Aircraft and helicopter takeoffs and landings will be rescheduled during the 25-minute English listening test, which runs from 1:10 p.m. to 1:35 p.m., and military drills including live-fire exercises and tank movements will be suspended.
Buses and trains will slow down near test sites and refrain from using horns, while nearby event venues and construction sites will be asked to minimize noise.
The ministry will set up a security system with the National Police Agency and regional education offices to protect exam papers and answer sheets. Central liaison officials from the ministry will be dispatched to every testing district to support the handling of test materials.
The government is also moving to block cheating with artificial intelligence glasses, which drew attention after cases were caught during essay exams at the University of Seoul and Yonsei University. Under guidelines released by the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation, AI glasses are banned from test sites, and students who carry them without handing them to a proctor will have their exam voided. Wearing them during the exam will void the results regardless of whether they were actually used, and will also bar the student from taking the exam the following year.
"We will do our best, with every ministry pulling together, so that students can fully demonstrate the skills they have honed," Choi said. "Please take care of your health until the end, and prepare with a calm mind so that your efforts can bear valuable fruit."