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S. Korea’s financial markets to open 1 hour later on Thursday

November 13, 2018

SEOUL, Nov. 14 (Yonhap) — South Korea’s financial markets will start trading an hour later than usual on Thursday due to the nationwide college entrance exam, the bourse operator has said.

Trading on the main KOSPI and secondary KOSDAQ stock markets, as well as the bond market and the over-the-counter (OTC) stock market, will begin at 10 a.m. and close at 4:30 p.m., according to the Korea Exchange (KRX).

The country’s foreign exchange market will start trading an hour later at 10 a.m. but close at 3:30 p.m. as usual.

Local bank branches will also adjust their operating hours to between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., from the current 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Korea Federation of Banks has said.

The adjustment is aimed to help promote smooth traffic for test takers, their parents and other relevant officials on the day of the standardized College Scholastic Ability Test, the organizations said.

More than 590,000 high school seniors and graduates will take the one-day test set to be administrated across the country on Thursday. Examinees should arrive at the designated test sites by 8:10 a.m., with the exam to finish at 5:40 p.m., according to the education ministry.

Boxes of test papers and answer sheets are loaded out of a truck at the Office of Education in the central city of Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, on Nov. 13, 2018, two days ahead of the state-administrated scholastic aptitude test. (Yonhap)