S. Korea exempts civil service exam fees for care-leaver and extended-care youth
In short
South Korea's cabinet approved a revision to the civil service appointment exam decree on Oct 6 that waives exam fees for young people whose child-welfare protection has been extended and for those who have left care within the past five years. The change takes effect next year, according to the personnel ministry. The same revision also lets ministries decide on additional successful candidates when hiring is deferred for military service, pregnancy or childbirth.
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South Korea's cabinet approved a revision to the enforcement decree on civil service appointment exams on Oct 6 that waives exam fees for young people in extended child-welfare protection and for those preparing for independence, the personnel ministry said. [ 1 , 2 ]
Under the revision, the exemption applies from next year to youth who were cared for in child welfare facilities or foster families and whose protection has been extended, as well as to youth within five years of their protection ending, according to the ministry. [ 2 ]
The same revision creates a basis for deciding additional successful candidates when an appointment is deferred for reasons such as military service, pregnancy or childbirth. The ministry said this responds to the difficulty of filling the resulting vacancy, and that the additional hires would be decided according to each ministry's staffing needs. [ 2 ]
Personnel ministry chief Choi Dong-seok said the change was intended to ease the financial burden on test-takers and to raise flexibility in the hiring process. [ 2 ]
The Newsis headline also reported the exemption, describing extended-protection and independence-preparing youth as being covered "as well." The article text carried by Newsis, however, concerned a separate subject — Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae's remarks at a National Assembly audit — and contained no details of the exam-fee measure. The documents do not state how many people the exemption covers or what the other, already-exempt categories are. [ 1 ]
Why it matters
The measure lowers a cost barrier for a small group of young people leaving care or still under extended protection who want public-sector jobs, a group the personnel ministry describes as facing financial burden. The second part of the revision gives ministries a basis to fill posts left open by deferred appointments, which the ministry says has been difficult. Both effects are procedural and limited in scope.
Key facts
- The cabinet approved a revision to the enforcement decree on civil service appointment exams at its Oct 6 meeting, the personnel ministry said. [ 2 ]
- Under the revision, youth in extended child-welfare protection and youth whose protection ended less than five years ago are exempt from civil service exam fees. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The exemption applies from next year. [ 2 ]
- The revision also provides a basis for deciding additional successful candidates when an appointment is deferred for military service, pregnancy or childbirth, given the difficulty of filling the vacancy. [ 2 ]
- Personnel ministry chief Choi Dong-seok said the change is meant to ease test-takers' financial burden and increase flexibility in the hiring process. [ 2 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- The cabinet approved a revision exempting youth in extended protection and youth preparing for independence from civil service exam fees. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The measure applies from next year and covers young people who were cared for in child welfare facilities or foster families and whose protection was extended, as well as those within five years of their protection ending, according to the personnel ministry. [ 2 ]
- The same revision allows additional successful candidates to be decided when appointments are deferred for military service, pregnancy or childbirth. [ 2 ]
Still unclear
- The Newsis document carried a headline about the exam-fee exemption but an article text about Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae's remarks at a National Assembly audit, with no details of the exam-fee measure. The article text in document 1 does not match its own headline, so only the headline could be used for this event; no outlet text explains the discrepancy.
- The Newsis headline says extended-protection and independence-preparing youth are exempt "as well," implying other groups already receive the exemption. The documents do not list which other groups are already exempt, or how the new categories differ from them.
- The number of people affected, the cost to the government and the exact effective date are not given. The documents say only that the change applies from next year and provide no figures.