Hiring and Recruiting 38 'Private Sector Experienced' Secondary Battery Patent Examiners

Application Period from Next Month 4 to 15, May Announcement of Successful Candidates
Eligibility Requires Degree and Experience in Specific Job Fields
Equivalent to Grade 5 with No Retirement Age and Extended Work Possible
Higher Salary Advantage Compared to General Grade 5 Civil Servants

The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) is launching a recruitment drive for specialized term patent examiners in the secondary battery sector. The aim is to hire highly experienced professionals from the private sector as patent examiners to resolve delays in examination within the secondary battery field and to prevent the overseas leakage of core technologies.

KIPO announced on the 21st that following last year's recruitment of 67 patent examiners in the semiconductor field, it will additionally hire 38 specialized term patent examiners in the secondary battery sector this year.

Provided by the Korean Intellectual Property Office

The recruitment areas are divided into seven fields: ▲ cell structure design and assembly process ▲ battery packaging and peripheral devices ▲ battery management system (BMS), energy storage system (ESS), and waste batteries ▲ electrode structure and production ▲ electrode materials and inorganic materials ▲ electrolytes and organic compounds ▲ separators and polymer materials.

Applicants must hold relevant degrees and experience in the intended job field. Work experience in the respective job area is also preferred.

KIPO will accept applications from May 4 to 15, conduct document screening and interviews, and announce the final successful candidates in May.

The recruited patent examiners will hold the status of national public officials equivalent to grade 5 (specialized term appointment level B) with technical expertise. Unlike regular public officials, specialized term appointments have no mandatory retirement age. After the initial contract, they can extend their employment up to 10 years depending on staffing and budget conditions without age restrictions, and even after the 10-year term expires, they can reapply for term-based public official recruitment exams.

Additionally, they enjoy higher remuneration compared to newly hired general grade 5 public officials, recognizing their private sector experience.

Previously, KIPO began consultations with related ministries in the second half of last year to increase the number of examiners in the secondary battery field, finalizing the increase with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety in November. This month, budget discussions with the Ministry of Economy and Finance were completed, finalizing the recruitment.

Secondary batteries, along with semiconductors, are considered two major national security and strategic assets in Korea. Patent applications to protect domestic companies' core technologies have been increasing by about 15% annually, with 10,699 applications in 2020, 12,306 in 2021, and 14,042 in 2022. However, the limited number of patent examiners has shown limitations in timely processing the growing number of patent applications.

Therefore, KIPO plans to resolve examination delays by hiring highly experienced private sector professionals as patent examiners. KIPO also expects that re-employment of these experts in public service will help prevent the overseas leakage of domestic core technologies.

For more detailed information about the patent examiner recruitment, please visit the KIPO website or the Ministry of Personnel Management’s Nara Work website, or contact the KIPO Operations Support Division for guidance.

Kim Si-hyung, Acting Commissioner of KIPO, stated, “The recruitment of patent examiners in the secondary battery field will strengthen the quality of patent examinations and help prevent the leakage of core technologies due to overseas migration of domestic experts. We hope that many experienced veterans with rich field experience will open a ‘second chapter’ in their careers through public service and we encourage active interest and support.”

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