78.8% Attendance Rate for Grade 9 Civil Service Exam Written Test... 8.3% Increase Compared to Previous Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] The 2021 national civil service level 9 open competitive recruitment written exam was held on the 17th at 436 test centers across 17 cities and provinces nationwide.

According to the Ministry of Personnel Management, out of a total of 198,110 applicants, 156,233 (provisional figure) took the exam, showing an attendance rate of 78.8%. This is an increase of 8.3 percentage points compared to last year's 70.5%.

The attendance rate two years ago was 79.0%, but it dropped significantly last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Considering the recent decision of the Constitutional Court, the Ministry of Personnel Management allowed not only self-quarantined individuals but also confirmed COVID-19 positive examinees to take the exam under the supervision of exam proctors composed of Ministry staff at hospitals or residential treatment centers designated by health authorities, based on the examinees' wishes.

On the day of the exam, there were 5 confirmed COVID-19 positive examinees and 42 self-quarantined examinees.

To prevent the spread of COVID-19, the government unified the main entrance of the test centers and conducted temperature checks for all entrants.

Separate exam rooms were prepared for examinees showing fever or respiratory symptoms. The capacity per exam room was reduced from 25-30 people in previous years to fewer than 20. Accordingly, the number of test centers increased from 426 last year to 436 this year.

Proctors for confirmed and self-quarantined examinees wore protective suits while supervising, underwent diagnostic testing after the exam, and monitored their health status for two weeks.