SEOUL, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's education ministry decided on Wednesday to delay the college entrance exam by a week as the second-biggest ever earthquake in the country's history hit a southeastern region.
Education Minister Kim Sang-gon, who is also deputy prime minister for social affairs, held an emergency press conference, saying the Korea Scholastic Aptitude Test will be postponed to Nov. 23 for the safety of students and the fairness of exam.
It was the first time the country delayed the test due to a natural disaster.
The all-important college entrance exam was originally scheduled to be conducted on Thursday, but it was put off as a 5.4-magnitude quake struck the southeastern coastal city of Pohang earlier in the day.
According to local TV footage, some of school buildings in Pohang showed fissures in external walls and broken windows.
The tremor was the second-biggest ever faced by the country after the most powerful quake of 5.8 magnitude hit the Gyeongju city, just north of the Pohang city, in September last year.
