Yoon Seok-yeol: "TOEIC Validity Period for Public Institution Job Seekers Extended to 5 Years"

Concerns Raised Over Effectiveness in Companies

Photo by Asia Economy DB

[Asia Economy Reporters Bomryeong Kim and Juni Park] Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, has proposed extending the validity period of official language and Korean history proficiency test scores for public sector job seekers to a maximum of 5 years. While the intention is to reduce the burden on job seekers, concerns have been raised that this might interfere with companies' talent recruitment processes.

On the 11th, Candidate Yoon announced through "Seok-yeol's Heart-Throbbing Promise" that "for public service exam candidates and job seekers, the validity period of official scores for foreign language tests including TOEIC and TOEFL, as well as the Korean History Proficiency Test, will be extended."

The validity period for official scores such as TOEIC, TOEFL, FLEX, and the Korean History Proficiency Test, which are essential requirements for employment, is typically 2 years. Most public institutions and private companies apply this standard. Considering that the Ministry of Personnel Management currently recognizes official scores for certain public servant recruitments (Grade 5, Grade 7, diplomats, etc.) for 5 years, Candidate Yoon plans to extend the validity period for job seekers' official scores to 5 years. For private companies, if they voluntarily extend the validity period from 3 to 5 years, the government intends to provide incentives such as additional points in government support projects and excellent company certification systems.

However, concerns have been voiced from the corporate sector. If the government implements this, it would effectively set guidelines, causing companies to feel pressured. Even if companies voluntarily extend the validity period to 5 years, the effectiveness may decline, potentially leading them to establish other criteria.

An HR team official from a company said, "Qualifications like Korean history are mostly forgotten after 5 years, so even if someone obtains a Level 1 certification, it is not very effective." He added, "From a company's perspective, attitude is more important than that capability, so this will inevitably lead to the creation of other standards." He continued, "Even now, when the government makes recommendations, in situations where conglomerate heads are gathered and pressured to guarantee hiring a certain number of people in the first half of the year, companies inevitably have to consider the government's stance."

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