SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — The chief organizer of South Korea’s notoriously gruelling university entrance exams has resigned — after complaints that an English test he designed was just too difficult.

South Korea’s college entry exam, known locally as the “Suneung,” is essential for admission to top universities and widely regarded as a gateway to social mobility, economic security and even a good marriage.

But this year just over three percent of exam-takers scored top marks in the English test — the lowest since absolute grading was introduced for the subject in 2018.

Students were given just 70 minutes to answer 45 questions.

One question singled out for criticism asked students to assess the political philosophers Immanuel Kant and Thomas Hobbes and analyze their views on the rule of law.

Another asked students to consider the nature of time and clocks, while another probed how the idea of existence might apply to video game avatars.

These sparked significant backlash in a country where the exam is taken so seriously that flights are grounded nationwide for 35 minutes during the English listening test to eliminate any potential noise.

In response, Oh Seung-keol, the chief of Korea’s Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation, stepped down.

He felt “a heavy sense of responsibility for the English section of the test, which did not align with the principles of absolute evaluation,” the institution said in a statement sent to Agence France-Presse.

He also apologized for “causing concern to test-takers and their parents, and for causing confusion in the college entrance exam process.”

The agency also issued a separate apology, saying it “takes seriously the criticism that the test failed to meet the appropriate level of difficulty and the goal of reducing students’ academic burden.”