In late April, 609 answer sheets for the regular driver and industrial engineer exams held at a test center in Seoul were shredded before they could be graded due to a mistake by the Korea Institute of Industrial Manpower. The agency apologized to the affected test takers and offered them a chance to retake the exam. It will also cover their expenses.

“I would like to bow down and apologize to the public once again for the damage caused to the test takers due to the negligent management of the qualification test,” said Er Su-bong, head of the Korea Employment Service, at a briefing at the Government Sejong Office on the 23rd.

The 609 shredded papers belonged to candidates who took the “2023 First Regular Engineer and Industrial Engineer Essay-type Practical Examination” held on April 23 at Yeonsu Middle School in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul. The regular engineer exam is a test that combines several types of engineer qualification tests at once. On this day, 61 tests were held in Yeonsujoong, including those for construction machinery and equipment engineers.

According to the Korea Industrial Manpower Corporation, the Yeonsujoong answer sheet was missing when the corporation’s Seoul West Branch collected the answer sheets from the jurisdictional examination centers and sent them to the corporation’s headquarters in Ulsan. The examiner at Yeonsujoong examination center sealed the answer sheets in a bag after the examination and transported them to the Seoul West office. After collecting the answer sheets from the 16 examination centers under its jurisdiction, the Seoul West Branch sent them to the scoring center at the headquarters on the following day, the 24th, but the answer sheet from the Yeonseojoong examination center was missing in the process.

The headquarters confirmed that 609 answer sheets were missing during the grading process last week. The Seoul West office had already shredded the answer sheets from the Yeonseojoong exam, along with the remaining question papers, printouts, and papers.

The agency didn’t realize the incident until a month after the exam. “The grading center graded other exams that were held earlier according to the exam schedule and only recently graded (the exam),” said an official, explaining that “the individual grading was done one by one, but the total (final number) was incorrect.”

Er Soo-bong (center), chairman of the Korea Industrial Manpower Corporation, and employees bow their heads to apologize for the shredding of answer sheets for the ‘2023 regular driver-industrial engineer 1st practical examination’ held at Yeonsu Middle School in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, at the Government Sejong Office in Sejong City, South Korea, on March 23. Yonhap

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has decided to conduct an additional test and waive the related fees so that the 609 people whose answer sheets were shredded can receive their results before the second test. They can choose either June 1-4 or June 24-25 to take the test at their preferred location. This is to ensure that there is no disruption to the second round of testing that begins on June 27. Test results for the June 1-4 test will be released on June 9, the same day as the original announcement of successful applicants, and test results for the June 24-25 test will be released on June 27. Victims who do not retake the exam will receive a full refund of their fees.

For those who retake the test, the agency will cover the cost of additional testing, including transportation for one day, and waive the fee for regular testing (two drivers). Additional compensation plans will also be actively considered.

The agency said it will contact the 609 affected individuals directly to apologize and explain the retesting process. It will strictly reprimand those responsible and review the entire process of implementing the National Technical Qualification Examination. “I will ensure that those responsible스포츠토토, including myself, are held accountable,” said Mr. Er.

There is also the possibility of a class action lawsuit by test takers who were faced with the first-ever ‘national test retest’ situation. A test taker who took the test in Yeonsujoong wrote on an online test taker community, “I was waiting for the passing date because my preliminary score was over 70, but I’m angry about what I will do if I fail after taking the retest,” and “I don’t have enough time to study if I take the (retest) on the 2-3rd of (next month), and I’m going crazy if I take it on the 24th because it overlaps with other tests and study dates.”

“We have been preparing and supplementing various measures to innovate the qualification test, but this incident has made us realize that simple fine-tuning or formal performance cannot be a fundamental innovation,” said Mr. Eh. “We will take this as an opportunity to build up our trust to meet the public’s eyes and become a fair and trustworthy organization.”