Compensation Increased for Examinees Affected by 'One-Minute Early CSAT Bell' in Appellate Ruling

Compensation Raised to 3?5 Million Won Per Person
Court: "Additional Time Provided Was Insufficient for Real Relief"

In connection with the incident where the exam-ending bell rang one minute earlier than scheduled during the 2024 College Scholastic Ability Test at Kyungdong High School in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, the appellate court has additionally recognized the state's liability for compensation.

Students are preparing for exams at the testing site set up at Gyeongbok High School in Jongno-gu, Seoul (photo provided for article context and unrelated to the article content). Photo by Joint Press Corps

The Civil Division 14-1 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judges: Nam Yangwoo, Hong Sungwook, and Chae Dongsu) recently ruled in a damages lawsuit filed by 42 examinees who took the test at Kyungdong High School in November 2023, ordering the state to pay an additional 2 million won per person compared to the first trial. Previously, the first trial had decided that each examinee should be compensated between 1 million and 3 million won. As a result, with this appellate ruling, the students will receive between 3 million and 5 million won in compensation.

In its ruling, the court stated, "Considering the significance of the College Scholastic Ability Test and the ages of the examinees, the confusion caused by the early termination must have been considerable," and explained, "Even if additional time was provided, it would not have been easy for the examinees to regain focus after experiencing embarrassment and tension in the exam room." The court further added, "Even though additional test time was provided during the lunch break, it was of little help since OMR answer sheets could not be corrected, and instead, the students suffered the disadvantage of a shortened lunch break."

This incident occurred during the first period Korean language exam of the College Scholastic Ability Test on November 16, 2023. Kyungdong High School used a manual bell system out of concern for possible broadcasting system errors, but the supervising proctor misread the time and rang the ending bell one minute early. Immediately after the exam, some students requested additional time, but the test papers were collected at that time. Later, after the end of the second period, the Korean language test papers were redistributed, and students were given 1 minute and 30 seconds to transfer their answers.

However, the court limited the scope of damages, stating, "There is insufficient evidence that this incident directly led to concrete damages such as failure to gain university admission or having to retake the exam." The court also noted that the high difficulty level of the test that year may have affected some students' scores.

With this ruling, the state's liability for compensation regarding the Kyungdong High School 'bell-ringing incident' has been confirmed at the appellate level as well. As the scope of compensation, which was limited to some examinees in the first trial, has been expanded by this ruling, actual victims will now receive more substantial compensation.