Nationwide Expansion of Social Distancing Level 2... Financial Public Enterprises Hiring New Employees Feel Uneasy

Housing Finance Corporation Written Exam Candidate Confirmed Positive
Financial Public Enterprise Faces Growing Concerns Over Countermeasures Ahead of Written and Interview Screening

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] On the 22nd, as the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) extended to 17 cities and provinces nationwide, with daily new confirmed cases recording in the 300s, financial public enterprises conducting second-half new employee recruitment are restless ahead of the written and interview examinations.

There have already been cases where applicants for financial public enterprises' written exams tested positive for COVID-19. On the 19th, a man in his 20s, Mr. A, who took the Korea Housing Finance Corporation (Jugeumgong) new employee recruitment written exam held at a middle school in Yeongdeungpo-gu on the 15th, was confirmed positive for COVID-19.

Accordingly, Jugeumgong urgently sent text messages to applicants who took the exam in the same classroom as the confirmed case, asking them to notify Yeongdeungpo Health Center or the corporation if they have fever or respiratory symptoms. The quarantine authorities are also monitoring nine applicants who took the exam in the same test room as the confirmed case.

With a confirmed case among Jugeumgong's written exam applicants, other financial public enterprises that have announced second-half new recruitment and are preparing for written and interview exams have become deeply concerned. Since social distancing is not yet at level 3, there is no need to postpone the recruitment schedule, but given the possibility of confirmed cases during the recruitment process, special measures have become inevitable.

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

The FSS, which is recruiting a record-high 90 regular employees this year, is currently receiving applications from the 19th to the 28th of this month, making it difficult to postpone the scheduled written and interview exams. Accordingly, the FSS is searching for a venue for the first written exam to strictly adhere to the government's social distancing level 2 guidelines.

Originally, the plan was to rent lecture rooms at Sejong University for the written exam, but due to the resurgence of COVID-19 and to prevent many people from gathering in confined spaces, they are changing to a location with larger lecture rooms and more space. KDB Industrial Bank, which is holding the written exam 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 exam.

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

Jugeumgong, which plans to hire 60 people and completed document screening on the 16th of last month and the written exam on the 15th of this month, is now troubled ahead of the first interview scheduled for September 1-3. If the COVID-19 situation worsens, they are considering schedule changes and switching to non-face-to-face interview methods. A representative of the Korea Housing Finance Corporation said, "We will decide the interview timing 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, 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 under social distancing level 1, but they are determined to conduct interviews following social distancing level 2 guidelines to thoroughly prevent infectious disease spread.

All applicants must wear masks, and measures such as fever checks, health questionnaires, hand sanitizer use, minimizing overlapping movement routes, and maintaining a 2-meter distance will be enforced. However, considering the COVID-19 spread trend, if the situation worsens, the possibility of postponing the interview schedule remains open. KAMCO stated, "We will unify the test center entrance to check applicants for fever and cough symptoms and disperse people when leaving," adding, "If a COVID-19 confirmed case occurs among applicants, we will guide all applicants 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 if social distancing is raised to level 3, they will inevitably consider schedule changes.

The Korea Credit Guarantee Fund also stated, "If level 3 is raised, depending on detailed government guidelines or instructions on gatherings, meetings, and events (prohibiting 10 or more people) for government agencies, we may consider postponing the written exam," adding, "We will continuously monitor the results of written exams conducted earlier by other public institutions (September 12th)."

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

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

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

The recruitment fair scheduled from the 26th to 28th of this month, involving about 50 financial companies including commercial banks, will 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 applicants who excel in AI competency assessments.

Daily New COVID-19 Cases in the 300s

As of midnight on the 22nd, 332 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed across all 17 cities and provinces. This is the first time since the first domestic COVID-19 case on January 20th that simultaneous outbreaks have occurred nationwide in a single day.

The new confirmed cases increased by 8 from the previous day, marking the highest number since March 8 (total new cases 367, local transmission 366). New confirmed cases recorded daily as 103, 166, 279, 197, 246, 297, 288, 324, and 332 from the 14th onward, maintaining triple digits for nine consecutive days. The total confirmed cases over these nine days amount to 2,232.

As COVID-19 spreads nationwide, the government will expand the social distancing level 2 enhanced measures, previously limited to the metropolitan area, to the entire country starting on the 23rd. With the level 2 upgrade, nationwide indoor gatherings of 50 or more and outdoor gatherings of 100 or more are prohibited, and operations of 12 high-risk facilities such as clubs, entertainment bars, and karaoke rooms will be suspended. Multi-use facilities such as restaurants, bathhouses, and wedding halls must mandatorily comply with strengthened quarantine rules, including mask-wearing and electronic entry logs. All professional sports games, including soccer and baseball, will be held without spectators.

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