609 unscored answer sheets accidentally discarded in state-administered test

The answer sheets of 609 people in a state-administered exam last month were found to have been destroyed without grading after they were sent to the wrong place by mistake.

These had left the test takers having to retake the exam.

They took the nationwide test for industrial engineer licenses on April 23 at a middle school in Seoul’s northwestern district of Eunpyeong.

But their answer sheets were moved to a storage room by mistake, while those from Seoul’s 17 other test centers were sent to a vault for grading.

Officials of the state-run Human Resources Development Service of Korea (HRDK), the exam’s administrator, found out about the mistake on May 20, but only after the misplaced answer sheets were shredded.

The HRDK said it would contact all 609 examinees individually to apologize and explain follow-up measures.

They planned to schedule another exam opportunity from June 1 to 4, while announcing the exam results on the prearranged date of June 9.

This will also compensate them for transportation fees and possibly more.

It was also planned to reprimand those responsible and take steps to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

“I feel a heavy responsibility that something that cannot happen has happened at a public institution that is supposed to guarantee the fairness and reliability of state licenses,’’ Uh Soo-bong, head of the HRDK, said.

“I bow my head and apologize to people for causing damage to the test takers.’’