Seoul: The annual college entrance exam commenced nationwide on Thursday, witnessing a record number of retakers, largely fueled by an increase in medical school admissions. A total of 522,670 students, encompassing both high school seniors and graduates, registered for the state-administered College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), marking an increase of 18,082 from the previous year. According to Yonhap News Agency, high school seniors accounted for 340,777 of the total, representing 65.2 percent, while graduates numbered 161,784, the largest figure since 2003. Of the graduates, approximately 93,195 were identified as first-year university students aiming to retake the exam for better opportunities in the following year, as reported by Jongro Academy. The surge in graduate test-takers is linked to the rise in medical school quotas, with 39 medical schools nationwide planning to admit a total of 4,610 students, an increase of 1,497 from the current year. This expansion follows the Yoon Suk Yeol administratio n's decision to add about 2,000 slots annually over the next five years to mitigate the shortage of doctors. Students were required to arrive at their designated testing sites by 8:10 a.m. to prepare for the Korean language section of the five-part exam, which started at 8:40 a.m. The CSAT is regarded as one of the nation's most critical academic events, as admission to a prestigious university is often seen as essential for a successful career path. The government maintained its policy of excluding extremely difficult "killer" questions from this year's exam. "We made sure the exam could differentiate the levels of students simply using material covered by public education," stated Choe Joung-chul, a Dongguk University professor and head of the CSAT question-setting committee, during a press conference. The examination will run from 8:10 a.m. until 5:45 p.m., during which time authorities will manage noise levels around 1,282 examination sites nationwide. From 1:05 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., during the English li stening evaluation, all aircraft takeoffs and landings will be suspended, with the flight schedules of 156 airplanes adjusted accordingly. All airborne aircraft, except those in emergencies, must maintain an altitude of 3 kilometers or higher, while military exercises generating excessive noise will be temporarily halted. The Seoul metropolitan government extended morning rush hour subway operations from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., in contrast to the usual 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., to facilitate test-takers' timely arrival at their test sites. Additionally, over 10,000 police personnel were deployed to escort exam papers to and from testing locations and ensure order and stability around schools. The test results are scheduled to be delivered to students on December 6.