The practical test for the national technical qualification for general mechanical engineer will be held again. It comes after the revelation that the questions were leaked.
On the 27th, the Human Resources Development Service of Korea (HRD Korea) said it confirmed that the task-based practical test questions for the national technical qualification for general mechanical engineer administered on the 26th had been disclosed in advance and decided to hold a retest.
An investigation found that at a test site in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, the test papers that were to be distributed the following day (the 26th) were opened on the 25th due to the negligence of staff and examiners, and the contents were shared on an online community.
The retest applies to candidates who took the exam on the 26th during the five-day testing period from the 22nd to the 26th, totaling 57 people, about 4% of all 1,474 examinees.
The retest will be available from the 31st to Aug. 5, and eligible candidates can choose their test date within that window. Candidates may sit the test at HRD Korea-affiliated institutions or other designated sites in their preferred region.
An HRD Korea official said, "We plan to provide compensation to the candidates eligible for the retest in accordance with the relevant guidelines," adding, "We will also conduct a special internal audit."
Meanwhile, controversies have been recurring in qualification exams administered by the agency. Last year, during the first exam for Certified Public Labor Attorney, non-test takers were announced as passers due to a computer error, and in 2023 there was a question-setting error in the patent attorney exam.