'Recruitment Begins' Financial Public Enterprises Busy Preparing Countermeasures Amid COVID-19 Resurgence (Comprehensive)

Feeling Anxious About COVID-19 Spread Ahead of Written Exam and Interview

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] Financial public enterprises are restless due to the sudden spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) while conducting new employee recruitment in the second half of the year. Many places have only the written test, which requires many people to gather in one place after the document screening, and face-to-face interviews left, so they are busy preparing countermeasures.

According to the financial sector on the 20th, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) plans to identify information on test participants with a history of self-quarantine in advance through the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency before the written test scheduled for the 12th of next month. A separate test site will also be prepared for those with a fever in case they come to the test center.

The FSS, which is hiring 90 regular employees, the largest scale ever this year, is already accepting document submissions from the 19th to the 28th of this month, making it difficult to postpone the scheduled written and interview tests. Accordingly, the FSS is looking for a location for the first written test to strictly comply with the government's social distancing level 2 guidelines.

Originally, the plan was to hold the written test by renting lecture rooms at Sejong University, but due to the resurgence of COVID-19, they are changing to a place where larger lecture rooms and more space can be secured to prevent many people from gathering in a small space. KDB Industrial Bank, which is holding the written test on the same day as the FSS, is also preparing stronger quarantine measures than government guidelines by significantly reducing the number of people per classroom for the written test.

Considering Video Interviews in Case Face-to-Face Interviews Are Difficult
Schedule Changes Inevitable if Social Distancing Raised to Level 3

The Korea Housing Finance Corporation, which plans to hire 60 people and completed document submission on the 16th of last month and the written test on the 15th of this month, is struggling ahead of the first interview scheduled for September 1-3. They are considering schedule changes and switching to non-face-to-face interviews if the COVID-19 situation worsens. A Housing Finance Corporation official said, "We will decide the timing of the interview considering the COVID-19 spread trend and government guidelines," adding, "We are also reviewing the introduction of video interviews in case face-to-face interviews are difficult."

Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO), which plans to hire 69 people in the second half of the year, closed document submissions on the 31st of last month and plans to conduct the first interview from August 31 to September 4. The interview location, the Talent Development Institute in Asan, Chungcheongnam-do, is still at social distancing level 1, but they are determined to conduct the interviews according to social distancing level 2 guidelines to thoroughly prevent the spread of infectious diseases.

All candidates must wear masks, and measures such as fever checks, questionnaire completion, hand sanitizer use, minimizing overlapping movement routes, and maintaining a 2-meter distance will be observed. However, considering the COVID-19 spread trend, if the situation worsens, the possibility of postponing the interview schedule is also open. KAMCO stated, "We will unify the test center entrance to check candidates for fever and cough symptoms and disperse people when leaving," adding, "If a COVID-19 case occurs among candidates, we will guide all candidates to monitor for 14 days."

The Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC), which plans to hire 30 new employees this year, has just started the recruitment schedule. KDIC, which is accepting applications until the 1st of next month, will not postpone the written and interview schedules at this stage, but will consider schedule changes if social distancing guidelines are raised to level 3.

The Korea Credit Guarantee Fund also said, "If raised to level 3, we may consider postponing the written test according to detailed government guidelines or restrictions on gatherings and events (ban on gatherings of 10 or more) at government agencies," adding, "We will continuously monitor the results of written tests conducted earlier by other public institutions (September 12)."

Commercial Banks Unable to Confirm Second Half Recruitment Due to COVID-19

Commercial banks have not yet finalized their regular recruitment plans for the second half of the year. Usually, around August, banks set and prepare their second half recruitment plans, but this year, due to the spread of COVID-19, major domestic commercial banks have not finalized the schedule, scale, or method of recruitment. Banks that planned to finalize specific schedules and scales around September are now deeply concerned due to fears of COVID-19 resurgence centered in the metropolitan area.

The general industry atmosphere is that even if banks recruit at a scale similar to last year, they are likely to change the recruitment method. Due to the resurgence of COVID-19, the possibility of using non-face-to-face methods for occasional recruitment is increasing instead of the existing recruitment method where candidates gather in groups to take written tests.

The recruitment fair, in which about 50 financial companies including commercial banks will participate from August 26 to 28, will also actively utilize non-face-to-face methods. Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank, Hana Bank, KB Kookmin Bank, IBK Industrial Bank, and NH Nonghyup Bank plan to conduct non-face-to-face interviews during the fair for about 2,300 candidates who excel in AI competency assessments.

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