The ACT college entrance examinations in South Korea and Hong Kong got canceled on Saturday, several hours before the test was scheduled to begin. The reason given was that there had been a verified leak of the exam materials, Global Times reported.

The cancellation affected about 5,500 students, all of who will receive refunds for their test fees, according to ACT spokesperson Edward Colby. Colby also said this is the first time the exam has been canceled for an entire country.

The ACT, an Iowa-based nonprofit organization, had planned to administer the exam at 56 locations around South Korea and Hong Kong on Saturday morning. They decided to cancel the test soon after receiving "credible evidence" that test materials had been leaked, Colby explained.

"We are extremely concerned about any activities that could impact the fairness and integrity of the test. When individuals attempt to profit by stealing test materials and selling them, it can hurt thousands of students who did nothing wrong, as it has in this case," Colby said in an email.

Cheating on standardized English and college admissions tests has long been an issue in Asian countries. In January, SAT college entrance exams were canceled in China and Macau over concerns that some students had seen copies of the tests in advance. The same situation occurred in South Korea in 2013, The College Board, the testing firm that oversees the SAT, even had to reduce the exam dates from six times a year to four.