South Korea’s education authorities decided to accept multiple answers for two questions in this year’s college entrance exam, officials said Monday, a move expected to alter the scores of thousands of test-takers.

The cited questions, each from biology and English language sections of the annual test known here as Suneung, have been challenged by test-takers who said there were two possible answers out of five choices.

The Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation announced that two answers for each of the disputed questions are correct, in a joint briefing with the Education Ministry at the Government Complex Sejong.

Taking responsibility for the confusion caused by the question dispute, KICE chief Kim Sung-hoon said he would resign from his post. It marks the third time that the head of the KICE, which is responsible for administering the nationwide tests, will step down as a result of an error in the exams.

The decision is likely to cause enormous ripples throughout the country as thousands of students will see their grades alter as a result; the annual exam is based on a relative grading system that divides all test-takers into nine groups.

According to local education firms, the KICE decision will bump up grades for 3,000 to 4,000 students but will have negative effects on 1,700 to over 6,000 students.

Experts said the competition for students in the upper bracket will become fiercer, as the overall scores for the biology tests and the cutoff score for the top grade are both expected to go up by 1.3 and 2 points, respectively

The flawed question imbroglio added confusion to this year’s college admission process that had been struck by claims that the exams were “excessively easy.” It also further marred the reputation of the KICE, which was already chastised for making mistakes in the world geography section for last year’s entrance exam.

Monday’s recognition also marked the first time ever that two entrance exam questions from the same year were found to be flawed.

In light of the mounting criticism about the state-commissioned test, the Education Ministry said it will launch a committee to reform the exams. The committee will be launched by December and will unveil its final plans for improvement by March, which will be applied in blueprints for next year’s college entrance exam.

“I am fully aware of the need to revamp Suneung. (The ministry) will work to identify the underlying cause behind these problems,” said Education Minister Hwang Woo-yea.

The committee will be headed by an outsider to “mix the fresh perspective of people outside the ministry and various know-how of the ministry,” according to the ministry officials.

By Yoon Min-sik (minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)