The Human Resources Development Service of Korea (HRD Korea), which recently experienced at least seven incidents of answer sheet handover omissions including the shredding of answer sheets from the '2023 Regular Engineer and Industrial Engineer 1st Practical Test' held last April, has received a formal institutional warning.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced the results of the recent 'Special Audit on the National Qualification Exams of HRD Korea.'
The audit was conducted from May 22 to July 19. In addition to the audit to identify the causes and responsibilities related to the shredding of answer sheets, a comprehensive audit was also carried out on the overall operation of the national qualification exams, including 'test creation, administration, grading, feedback, and organizational and operational systems.'
The audit confirmed multiple violations of internal regulations related to shredding, including the answer sheet handover process and the Examination Management Operation Regulations and Office Management Rules.
At various stages such as the test site, Seoul Western Branch Office, and grading center, the quantity of answer sheets was not verified, signatures were not obtained on the handover documents, and the appointment of test management committee members was inappropriate. Furthermore, documents were shredded without confirming whether preservation records were included and without on-site inspection staff present.
Additional answer sheet losses were also confirmed. Despite at least seven incidents of answer sheet handover omissions since 2020, including the loss of one answer sheet out of six for the 2022 engineer practical test, HRD Korea was found to have been negligent in preventing recurrence.
Following the audit results, the Ministry of Employment and Labor requested HRD Korea to impose disciplinary actions ranging from severe to minor penalties, warnings, and cautions on a total of 22 employees responsible for the answer sheet shredding incident, according to the degree of misconduct. The ministry also notified HRD Korea to improve various institutional and operational deficiencies identified during the audit of exam operations.
In addition, HRD Korea received an institutional warning due to the continuous occurrence of exam-related incidents.
Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jeong-sik stated, "The national qualification exams administered by HRD Korea are large-scale tests taken by approximately 4.5 million citizens annually, so securing trust in the exams is of utmost importance. HRD Korea must thoroughly identify the causes and make fundamental institutional improvements through painstaking efforts to ensure that such unfortunate incidents never happen again. The Ministry of Employment and Labor will also enforce strict management."
Regarding the audit results, an HRD Korea official said, "We humbly accept the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s special audit results on the overall national qualification exams. We will operate an internal National Qualification Operation Innovation Task Force (TF) and prepare more precise and detailed institutional improvement plans by the end of this month to make every effort to prevent recurrence of similar cases."
In May, Oh Soo-bong, former Chairman of the Korea Industrial Manpower Corporation (fourth from the left), and employees bowed their heads in apology at the Government Sejong Complex regarding the answer sheet shredding incident. (File photo)
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