Written Exam for Grade 9 Public Officials Postponed Due to COVID-19... Scheduled to Take Place After May

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The national civil service level 9 open competitive written examination has been postponed due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) outbreak.

The Ministry of Personnel Management announced on the 3rd that the level 9 open competitive recruitment written exam, originally scheduled for the 28th, will be tentatively postponed until after May.

Previously, the Ministry had postponed the level 5 open competitive and diplomatic candidate first exams, as well as the regional talent level 7 trainee recruitment written exams, which were scheduled for the 29th of last month, until after April.

Regarding the postponement decision, the Ministry explained, "Considering that the infectious disease crisis alert level remains at 'serious' due to COVID-19, and that this exam is a large-scale test conducted across 17 cities and provinces nationwide."

They added, "Above all, this is to secure the health and safety of examinees and the public, and to prevent the spread of the infectious disease in the community. The decision was urgently made after comprehensively considering the number of examinees, the size of the test sites, and the number of exam staff."

According to the Ministry, the number of applicants for the level 9 open competitive exam, which recorded a competition rate of 37.2 to 1 this year, is 185,203, with 341 test sites. Among these, in Daegu and Gyeongbuk, where confirmed cases are rapidly increasing, 21,616 examinees were scheduled to take the exam at 41 test sites.

The number of exam staff responsible for managing and supervising the exam nationwide is approximately 23,000, with 2,838 in Daegu and Gyeongbuk.

The Ministry plans to reschedule the exam date considering the COVID-19 spread situation comprehensively and conduct the written exam after May.

The Ministry will notify examinees individually via text message about the exam postponement.

Hwang Seo-jong, head of the Ministry of Personnel Management, said, "I hope examinees deeply understand that this is an unavoidable decision to protect the safety and health of the public," and added, "We will continue to do our best to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and ensure the safe participation of examinees."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.