On the 17th, over 190,000 candidates took the Grade 9 Public Service Exam... COVID-19 positive candidates allowed to take the exam

Ministry of Personnel Management Announces Plan for Grade 9 Public Service Written Exam... Reducing Test Center Capacity and Preparing Post-Exam Measures

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] The "2021 National Civil Service Grade 9 Open Competitive Recruitment Written Examination," which nearly 200,000 candidates will take, will be held on the 17th at 436 test centers across 17 cities and provinces nationwide. The Ministry of Personnel Management has decided to allow confirmed COVID-19 patients to take the exam if they wish, while strengthening quarantine measures.

On the 14th, the Ministry of Personnel Management stated, "Considering the recent decision of the Constitutional Court, not only self-quarantined individuals but also confirmed infected examinees will be allowed to take the exam under thorough quarantine management if they wish to do so."

This exam saw 198,110 applicants competing for 5,662 positions, resulting in an average competition ratio of 35 to 1. The Ministry of Personnel Management has coordinated with quarantine authorities to prepare pre- and post-exam measures. First, the Ministry will verify whether all examinees are confirmed cases, self-quarantined, or have any recent travel history abroad.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Confirmed infected examinees who wish to take the exam will be allowed to do so under strict quarantine management. According to the quarantine authorities' exam quarantine guidelines, examinees who have been confirmed by their attending physician to be in a condition to take the exam will be allowed to do so at hospitals or residential treatment centers designated by the quarantine authorities.

The Ministry of Personnel Management explained, "Exam supervisors will be dispatched to these facilities to manage and oversee the process so that it operates under the same procedures as for general examinees," adding, "For self-quarantined individuals, arrangements will be made to allow them to take the exam at separate locations after consultation with quarantine authorities, as was done last year."

To ensure a safety distance of at least 1.5 meters between examinees in the exam room, the number of examinees per room will be reduced to fewer than 20, compared to the usual 25 to 30. On the exam day, the main entrance of the test center will be unified, and all entrants will undergo a temperature check. Examinees showing fever or respiratory symptoms will take the exam in a separately prepared standby exam room.

Post-exam management measures for examinees and supervisors have also been established. Examinees who show fever or respiratory symptoms on the exam day will be continuously monitored for any health abnormalities for two weeks. In particular, supervisors of exam rooms where confirmed or self-quarantined examinees took the exam will be required to undergo diagnostic testing within one day after the exam and have their health monitored for two weeks.

Kim Woo-ho, head of the Ministry of Personnel Management, said, "We will do our utmost to conduct the Grade 9 open competitive recruitment written exam, the largest national civil service recruitment test, safely and fairly," and urged, "We ask all to comply with the pre-announced quarantine guidelines for safe exam operation."