ISTANBUL

South Korea on Thursday temporarily halted aircraft takeoffs and landings as more than half a million students sat for the nation’s critical university entrance exam.

A total of 554,000 students applied for this year’s College Scholastic Ability Test, a 6% increase from last year and the highest number since 2018, Yonhap News reported, citing the Education Ministry. Students are competing for places at the country’s top universities, especially after the government reversed plans to expand medical school quotas following widespread strikes.

As a precaution against noise disruption during the English listening section, all takeoffs and landings were suspended nationwide from 1.05 pm to 1.40 pm (0405-0440GMT). Stock market opening and closing hours were also delayed by one hour to ease morning rush-hour traffic.

The exam began at 8.40 am (2340GMT) and was scheduled to end at 5.45 pm (0845GMT) across 1,310 test centers.

Separately, a truck crashed into a market in Bucheon during the exam, killing two people and injuring 18 others. Park Geum-cheon, an official with the Bucheon Fire Station, said the driver, a man in his 60s, was not under the influence and struck people on the market’s pathways rather than in stores.