[2020 National Assembly Audit] "Date for Medical Licensing Exam Fixed for Examinees, Controversy over Fairness... Should Be Randomly Assigned"

"58% Possibility of Information Exchange Between Advance and Rear Teams... Test Date Decided by Drawing Lots"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jung] Despite repeated issues in the medical licensing examination where high-scoring candidates, known as the 'seonbaldae' (first group), take the exam earlier and later leak exam information to the 'hubaldae' (second group), the Korea Health Personnel Licensing Examination Institute (KHPLEI), which is responsible for managing this, has been criticized for neglecting the problem.

At the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee's audit of KHPLEI on the 15th, Kang Byung-won, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated, "This year as well, KHPLEI sent text messages and even collected pledges from medical licensing exam candidates to prevent cheating," adding, "Although KHPLEI claims to be addressing the seonbaldae issue, it is still openly discussed in medical student communities, indicating that the problem remains unresolved."

Rep. Kang pointed out, "The seonbaldae controversy has persisted, but the measures taken are insufficient, making one wonder if the medical licensing exam is truly a test to grant licenses to doctors."

Shin Hyun-young, also from the Democratic Party, said, "According to a 2005 study on information sharing in the medical practical exam, the possibility of information exchange between the seonbaldae and hubaldae was 58%," and added, "It can be observed that the scores of candidates who took the exam on the second day improved compared to those who took it on the first day."

Rep. Shin noted, "If students with high scores early in the exam share information with those who take it later and have lower scores, the scores between the two groups could become similar," and criticized, "Currently, exam dates are decided by candidates drawing lots or by class representatives, which could raise fairness concerns. Therefore, KHPLEI should actively consider randomly assigning exam dates."

In response, the director of KHPLEI expressed that although the seonbaldae controversy has existed for several years, there is no problem with the fairness of the exam.

The director explained, "The medical licensing exam is conducted over 35 days, and only 108 candidates can take the exam each day, so with over 3,000 candidates, it is inevitable that there will be first and later examinees."

He rebutted, "The practical exam questions are fully disclosed in advance. Just like the driving license practical test is public, but those who are going to fail still fail," emphasizing, "Because it evaluates ability." He continued, "The exam consists of 86 disclosed questions, from which 12 are randomly selected for the test, and all conditions are known beforehand," adding, "There might be suspicion that first-day candidates shared information with later candidates leading to similar scores, but there is no evidence to support such interference."

However, considering the ongoing seonbaldae controversy, KHPLEI plans to consider randomly assigning exam dates. The director added, "If there is any possibility of suspicion, we will consider forcibly assigning dates by KHPLEI."

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