Business Maverick: Bank of Korea staff member caught after twin brother fakes test

The candidate applied to work at the Bank of Korea and the Financial Supervisory Service last year, but both entrance tests were on the same day, according to a joint email statement on Wednesday from the FSS and BOK. So the man got his twin brother to take the exam at the FSS — Korea’s financial watchdog — under his name, according to the statement that doesn’t identify the men. 

A spokesperson for the bank declined to comment because the investigation is ongoing and the details are private. FSS previously had posted the statement on its website, which has since been removed. An FSS spokesperson said they would no longer provide the statement online, declining to comment further. 

Both the man and his brother passed the tests, according to the statement. The man then proceeded with both applications on his own — including a second written test and interview at FSS — but dropped that hiring track once he landed a job at the BOK. He began working there this year. 

The BOK plans to take “stern disciplinary measures” against the employee depending on the results of its own internal investigation and those of an external investigative agency it tapped, the statement said.

In South Korea, which has one of the world’s most educated workforces, recent college graduates face stiff competition to land a job at prestigious employers. Exams are commonplace at every step of the education and job path, and taken very seriously: The annual college entrance exam has forced flights to be grounded to prevent disturbing the students.

To block future cheating, the BOK is considering measures against proxy tests and cooperating with relevant organisations that take written exams on the same day, according to the statement. BM/DM