Pohang designated as special disaster zone

Guidelines for college entrance exam unveiled

By Kim Bo-eun

President Moon Jae-in declared the southeastern city of Pohang a special disaster zone Monday, five days after a 5.4-magnitude quake jolted the city.

“The government will muster all of its administrative capabilities to swiftly repair the damage and for the college entrance exams to take place without any setback,” Moon said in a meeting with senior secretaries and aides at Cheong Wa Dae.

The President said the two tasks hold utmost priority, stating a comprehensive inspection of disaster preparation will take place after these are over.

The designation comes amid aftershocks which continue to hit the city ― 58 have taken place since the quake last week, including two 3.5- and 3.6-magnitude shocks that occurred late Sunday and early Monday.

The quake and aftershocks have placed around 1,000 Pohang residents in shelters and wreaked damage on over 5,500 private facilities in the area.

Damages have been estimated to exceed 9 billion won ($8.2 million). The disaster zone designation will enable local governments to receive additional state funding in making restorations. Pohang residents will also receive indirect subsidies through cuts in health insurance fees as well as telecommunications, electricity, gas and heating bills.

Earlier in the day, Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Kim Sang-kon announced a set of guidelines for the College Scholastic Aptitude Test (CSAT) scheduled to take place Thursday.

Following the of the quake last week, the test ― originally scheduled to take place Nov. 16 ― was pushed back by a week.

Kim said four test sites in Pohang have been relocated, while 12 sites near the city will be prepared in case shocks occur on the day of the test.

Officials from the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) will be dispatched to monitoring sites in Pohang.

If shocks occur during the test, KMA officials will provide guidance on how to respond, depending on the intensity of the tremors.

Based on three levels, students may continue taking the test, or be instructed to take cover under their desks and resume taking the test once the tremors are over, or evacuate the school building.

Classroom supervisors will compensate for the time used up, so if the test is disrupted and resumed, students will be guaranteed the exact hours and minutes required to take it.

In the case of a serious emergency situation, the deputy prime minister, who will be on standby in Pohang on the day of the CSAT, will give orders, together with regional education offices.

The sites will also have two firefighters and two rescue workers on duty.

As usual, public institutions will push back the time workers come to work to ease rush-hour traffic for test takers and planes will be grounded during the English listening test.

The ministry said another delay of the CSAT is impossible.

In the worst-case scenario, in which even the preparatory test sites are considered unsafe due to a strong quake, the test will be administered with the exception of the stricken area, a ministry official said.

There are 6,000 test-takers in Pohang, among 600,000 nationwide.