Admissions scandal in background as South Koreans sit for gruelling college exam

Mothers stand outside an entrance as their children get to the venue for taking the annual college entrance examinations, in front of an exam hall in Seoul, South Korea, November 14, 2019. REUTERS/Heo Ran

SEOUL (Reuters) - A record low number of South Korean students sat for the annual college entrance exam on Thursday, a test that many of them have prepared for since day one at school, and for which the country delayed work hours and put flights on hold.

A college admission scandal involving a former justice minister hung over the half-million test takers and their parents, many of whom fumed that nobody should be allowed to use their position to unfairly help their children.