Court Rules "Errors in Certified Real Estate Agent Exam Questions Should Lead to Cancellation of Failures"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Jo] The court has acknowledged an error in the question that sparked controversy over 'no correct answer' in the 30th Certified Real Estate Agent Qualification Exam. Candidates who failed due to this question now have a path to relief.

According to the legal community on the 19th, the Seoul Administrative Court Administrative Division 3 (Presiding Judge Hwanwoo Yoo) ruled in favor of 117 candidates, including Mr. A, who filed a lawsuit against the Korea Industrial Manpower Corporation, the exam organizer, seeking cancellation of their failure results. The court stated, "There was an abuse of discretion and illegality in the defendant's question setting and answer determination, so all dispositions against the plaintiffs must be canceled." If this ruling is finalized, the corporation must revoke the failure decisions for the affected candidates.

Mr. A and others took the 30th Certified Real Estate Agent first exam held in October 2019. During the exam, Question 11 of Type A in the 'Introduction to Real Estate Studies' subject sparked controversy among candidates for having no correct answer. The question asked to select the incorrect explanation regarding price elasticity of demand and supply in real estate. The corporation declared option 1, "When the price elasticity of demand is perfectly elastic, if demand increases, the equilibrium price does not change," as the correct answer.

Mr. A and others selected different options as correct answers, resulting in their answers being marked wrong for that question, which ultimately caused them to fail to meet the passing criteria. They requested cancellation of the failure decision through the Central Administrative Appeals Commission, arguing that option 1 was also a correct explanation, but when this was denied, they filed a lawsuit.

The court, based on opinions from professors and experts, found the plaintiffs' claims to be valid. The court stated, "Experts' opinions align with the plaintiffs' argument that when the price elasticity of demand is perfectly elastic, even if demand increases, the horizontal demand curve does not shift upward, so the equilibrium price does not change," and added, "The defect in this question was significant enough to make it difficult for an average examinee to select a proper answer, so it is reasonable to treat it as having no correct answer."

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