'Technical Engineer Written Exam' Postponed to the 9th of Next Month... Temporary Suspension of Regular Written Tests

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The government has decided to postpone the Professional Engineer written exam, originally scheduled for the 11th of this month, to the 9th of next month in order to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on the 8th that the 121st Professional Engineer written exam, a national technical qualification test, will be postponed to the 9th of next month due to the extension of the 'social distancing' period to prevent COVID-19.

The Professional Engineer written exam, which was scheduled for the 11th, consists of four sessions, each lasting 100 minutes, including a lunch break, raising concerns about possible infections among test takers.

Additionally, since the majority of the examinees are currently employed and the exam is relatively less related to employment, it was deemed unavoidable to postpone the exam.

For the 18 types of daily ongoing tests, the written exams, which involve high contact among examinees, will be suspended from the 10th until the end of social distancing, and only practical exams will be conducted.

The ongoing tests include ▲Korean cuisine, Western cuisine, Japanese cuisine, Chinese cuisine cooking technician exams ▲Beautician (nail, general, skin, makeup) ▲Baking and confectionery technician exams ▲Excavator and forklift operator technician exams ▲Word processor ▲Computer utilization levels 1 and 2 ▲Computerized accounting operator levels 1, 2, and 3, among others.

However, among the practical exams, the beautician (skin) and beautician (makeup) practical exams are excluded because they require close contact with models during the test, and models cannot wear masks due to the nature of the exam.

If applicants cancel their registration due to the exam postponement, they will receive a 100% refund and be guaranteed the opportunity to take the next exam, ensuring no disadvantages for the examinees.

Meanwhile, the 1st Technician practical exam (April 5th to 24th), which is directly linked to employment and livelihood, will proceed as scheduled. On exam days, the distance between examinees will be increased from at least 1 meter to at least 1.5 meters, temperature checks will be strengthened twice daily (morning and afternoon), and windows will be opened frequently.

The Korea Industrial Human Resources Corporation's 'National Qualification COVID-19 Task Force' will directly visit the sites to oversee quarantine measures and implement thorough prevention protocols.

Detailed schedules and other notices will be announced later on the Q-Net (www.q-net.or.kr) notice board and via individual SMS messages.