Bank of Korea employee caught after he allegedly asked twin brother to take test for another job

SEOUL – One man thought he had beat the system of South Korea’s notoriously competitive hiring market: He allegedly got his twin brother to take a job entrance exam under his name. 

The candidate applied to work at the Bank of Korea (BOK) and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) in 2022, but both entrance tests were on the same day.

So he got his twin brother to take the exam at the FSS – South Korea’s financial watchdog tasked with identifying wrongdoing at other institutions – under his name, according to a BOK and FSS joint statement on Wednesday. 

The man landed a job at BOK and began working there this year. The central bank is now investigating him for the alleged cheating.

The statement does not name the alleged perpetrator, and a spokesman declined to comment beyond the statement because the investigation is ongoing, and the details are private. 

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. BLOOMBERG