When Will Recruitment and Qualification Exams Take Place... Job Seekers Anxious Due to COVID-19

Postponements Continue for Civil Service and TOEIC Exams... Increased Irregular Recruitment Raises Entry Bar for Newcomers

On February 23, when the 55th Certified Public Accountant exam was held amid concerns over the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), examinees wearing masks were lining up in front of the exam site set up at Hongik University in Mapo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jeong] 'Gongsijok' (civil service exam candidates) and job seekers, whose exams were postponed due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), are experiencing confusion over the erratic announcements of exam schedules.

Some schedules, such as the national civil service exams originally planned for February to April, have been announced, but the police officer exam schedule remains uncertain. Lee Hanjong (31), preparing for the police exam, said, "Since the exam was postponed due to COVID-19, there has been no definite date, causing great confusion. I even canceled my academy registration and am only attending online lectures, but I feel anxious, wondering if I am falling behind." The police officer recruitment written exam was initially scheduled for the 4th of this month but was postponed to after May, and the schedule has yet to be finalized.

Confusion is increasing as the schedules for 'certification exams' that must be prepared in advance to pass the main exam are also delayed. The representative official language test, TOEIC, has been canceled four times consecutively from the regular test on February 29 to the test on April 12. Lee Youngah (25), a job seeker who planned to take the March exam due to the expiration of her TOEIC score validity, said, "Although the exam will resume on the 26th, the scores can only be confirmed two weeks later, making it difficult to even submit applications to companies that have already started hiring. While it is partly my fault for not obtaining the English score earlier, I have completely lost hope for the public recruitment exams in the first half of this year due to COVID-19."

The first written exam for engineer, industrial engineer, and service certifications, originally scheduled for the 25th, has also been postponed to early June. Obtaining certification in this exam can earn extra points in local technical civil service exams. Job seeker Jung Sungjin (27) said, "Since the local government exam schedule is set just one week apart from the engineer certification exam, even if I obtain the certification, it will be difficult to have it reflected. I feel empty, as if I have missed this year's exam."

Companies are reducing public recruitment and shifting their hiring systems to irregular recruitment. According to the job portal 'Saramin,' among 428 companies planning recruitment in the first half of this year, 78.7% plan to hire new employees only through irregular recruitment. Companies that conduct both public and irregular recruitment account for 12.4%, while only 8.9% hire new employees through public recruitment. By company size, 60% of large companies, 75.4% of mid-sized companies, and 81.1% of small companies hire new employees through irregular recruitment. This change is overwhelming for job seekers. Job seeker Park Heedong (28) said, "The preference for experienced workers will become more pronounced, considering adaptability to the company. I feel the employment barrier has risen even higher after COVID-19."

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