'Second Regular Maritime Officer Exam' Held on the 6th in 11 Regions Nationwide

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced on the 6th that the 2020 '2nd Regular Marine Engineer Examination' will be held at 11 testing centers nationwide.

The marine engineer license exam is a test required to newly obtain a marine engineer license or to serve as a higher-ranking crew member on a vessel. Due to concerns over the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the demand for the exam has been partially met through small-scale regular tests. The 1st regular exam originally scheduled for March 24 was postponed once to April 4 due to COVID-19 and then canceled. However, with the transition to social distancing in daily life and the reopening of the Korea Maritime and Ocean University training center (on the 18th of last month), the regular exam will be conducted. This exam will be held simultaneously in 11 regions nationwide, including Busan, Incheon, Yeosu, and Masan, with 2,963 candidates expected to take it.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries plans to strictly adhere to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (CDSCH) guidelines for exam quarantine management, as this is the first large-scale exam conducted in the maritime and fisheries sector since COVID-19. Exam times are divided into 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. sessions to disperse candidates and secure a 1.5-meter social distancing, and the capacity per exam room has been reduced from an average of 28 last year to 17.

Additionally, thorough quarantine management at the test sites will be implemented to ensure the safety of examinees. Candidates who are confirmed cases, symptomatic, or under self-quarantine will be restricted from taking the exam through text notifications and voluntary reporting, and those with a body temperature of 37.5℃ or higher detected on-site will also be prohibited from taking the exam.

Kim Jun-seok, Director of the Shipping and Logistics Bureau at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, stated, "Since this is the first large-scale exam conducted after COVID-19, we plan to manage the exam site quarantine with no margin for error."