From Next Year, 'Medical Licensing Exam' to Be Held at Gwangju Nam-gu Office Building

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] Starting next year, 11 types of qualification exams, including the medical licensing examination, dental licensing examination, Korean medicine licensing examination, and caregiver certification, will be held at the Nam-gu General Government Building in Gwangju Metropolitan City.

This is because the Honam branch of the Korea Health Personnel Licensing Examination Institute, which oversees national health professional exams, has established a new base at the Nam-gu General Government Building.

According to Nam-gu (District Mayor Kim Byeong-nae) on the 4th, the Honam branch of the Korea Health Personnel Licensing Examination Institute, an organization under the Ministry of Health and Welfare, recently signed a lease contract with Nam-gu Office for the building. They will use all the remaining space of 716㎡ on the 3rd floor and are scheduled to move in this September.

The reason the Honam branch of the Korea Health Personnel Licensing Examination Institute moved into the Nam-gu General Government Building is that from this year, the evaluation for training medical personnel has shifted to the CBT (Computer-Based Testing) method, and starting next year, various CBT exams will be conducted regionally without the need to travel to Seoul, necessitating securing venues for written exams.

The introduction of the CBT system is understood to be the first change in 70 years since the medical licensing examination was first conducted in Korea in 1952 using paper-based tests.

The Honam branch of the Korea Health Personnel Licensing Examination Institute plans to establish a CBT-based system by the second half of this year and conduct written exams for 11 types of qualifications starting next year, including medical doctors, dentists, Korean medicine doctors, level 1 emergency medical technicians, midwives, herbal pharmacists, health educators levels 1 and 2, assistive technologists, medical doctor candidates, dental doctor candidates, and caregivers.

With the Honam branch of the Korea Health Personnel Licensing Examination Institute scheduled to move into the Nam-gu General Government Building, the issue of leasing the building has effectively entered its final stages thanks to the determined decision-making and work execution of District Mayor Kim Byeong-nae.

The building's occupancy rate has jumped to 92%, and some remaining spaces on the 4th floor have been reserved for future public use.

In particular, the Nam-gu General Government Building is transforming into a public complex town as it houses the Population Health and Welfare Association in the basement level 1, and government agencies such as the Korea Workers' Compensation & Welfare Service call center and adjudication committee, the Korea Land Safety Management Institute, and the Honam branch of the Korea Health Personnel Licensing Examination Institute on the 2nd and 3rd floors.

District Mayor Kim Byeong-nae said, “Just one or two years ago, it was very painful to see offices with lights on in empty spaces, but thanks to our efforts to attract government agencies, we have lessened such concerns. The completion of the building lease is expected to bear good fruit as a sign of revitalization for the Baegun Square area commercial district.”