Most people who sit a civil service exam have heard the instruction to switch off their phones. The reason it is more than a courtesy is that a cheating penalty does not end with that single exam. Article 51 of the Enforcement Decree on Civil Service Examinations pairs voiding the exam or cancelling a pass with a five-year suspension of eligibility counted from the date of the penalty for some acts, while treating other acts only as suspension or voiding of that exam. Based on the text of the law, this article sets out what separates the two tracks, the penalty procedure, and the rules that apply once a candidate has already passed.

The basis is Article 45-2 of the State Public Officials Act and Article 51 of the Decree

Article 45-2 of the State Public Officials Act lets the head of the examination agency suspend or void the exam, or cancel a pass, for a person who cheats, for example by having someone else sit for them, and to suspend eligibility for a period within five years set by presidential decree. The list of acts and the actual period are filled in by Article 51 of the Enforcement Decree on Civil Service Examinations. The Act sets only the ceiling of "within five years," and the Decree fixes the period at five years.

Seven acts carry both cancellation and a five-year suspension

Paragraph 1 of Article 51 attaches to the following acts a suspension or voiding of the exam or cancellation of a pass, together with a five-year suspension of eligibility from the date of the penalty: (1) looking at another candidate's answer sheet or letting someone look at one's own, (2) asking someone to sit the exam in one's place or sitting it for someone else, (3) communicating about the exam content with another person by communication device or signal, (4) holding or using improper materials, (5) writing false statements in, or forging or altering, supporting documents such as military service, bonus point, language test or Korean history test scores, (6) taking a prohibited drug, or using a prohibited method, notified in order to affect the physical fitness test, and (7) any other improper means that affect one's own or another person's result. It is easy to overlook that the person who shows an answer sheet is subject to the same penalty.

Some acts end with the exam being suspended or voided

Paragraph 2 groups four acts separately: viewing the questions before the exam starts, writing answers before the start or after the end, holding a communication or calculating device that is not permitted, and any other act affecting fair administration that the head of the examination agency has announced as a standard for suspension or voiding. The penalty in these cases is suspension or voiding of that exam, and paragraph 2 does not mention a five-year suspension.

Holding a phone can void the exam; using it can mean five years

Laying the two paragraphs side by side settles the phone question. Holding a communication device that is not permitted falls under paragraph 2, item 3 and voids the exam, while exchanging exam content with another person through that device falls under paragraph 1, item 3 and can lead to the five-year suspension. Revising answers after the end signal is also a voiding ground under paragraph 2, item 2. Which items are permitted is set by each exam's announcement, so please check the notice for the exam you are sitting.

The penalty comes with reasons, and the list is shared with other agencies

When imposing a paragraph 1 penalty the head of the examination agency must notify the person with the reasons and report the result to the Minister of Personnel Management, who must provide the list of penalized persons to the heads of other examination agencies. Article 45-2, paragraph 2 of the Act requires that, before a penalty other than suspension, the content and reasons be notified in advance and the person be given an opportunity to explain. If you disagree, you would check the reasons stated in the notice and use the explanation procedure.

A suspended person cannot sit national or local examinations

Paragraph 3 says a person whose eligibility has been suspended for improper conduct in a national or local civil service exam cannot sit the examinations under this Decree during the suspension. Paragraph 1 describes the scope as "examinations under this Decree and other examinations for national public official appointment." So a penalty at a grade 9 written exam also blocks other job series during the same period. Once the period ends, the person can apply again. Eligibility requirements themselves are covered separately in our article on grounds for disqualification.

If you are already a public official, discipline follows

Under paragraph 5, when the person who cheated is a public official, the head of the examination agency must request a disciplinary resolution from the competent disciplinary committee or request discipline from the head of the person's agency. The wording is "must," not "may." For status issues after appointment, our article on dismissal of probationary civil servants is also worth reading. Bonus point and certificate documents are covered by paragraph 1, item 5 as well, so check the registration rules in our article on bonus point registration.

What to check before the exam, in order

(1) Read the announcement's list of prohibited items and how phones are handled. (2) Write nothing on the answer sheet before the start signal or after the end signal. (3) Submit bonus point, military service and language proof exactly as the originals. (4) If you receive a penalty notice, check the stated reasons and the deadline for explanation first. This article is general information summarizing Article 51 of the Enforcement Decree on Civil Service Examinations and Article 45-2 of the State Public Officials Act; whether a penalty applies in an individual case, and how to contest it, should be confirmed through the examination agency's announcement and advice from a legal professional.