By Jung Sung-ki
Staff reporter
A diplomatic academy will open in 2012 to replace the annual state exam, "woemu gosi," for selecting diplomats, an official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Sunday. The exam will be phased out in 2013, the official said.
The decision came as the Lee Myung-bak administration has sought to employ more diplomats with certain specialties or from diverse backgrounds to better prepare them for the international stage.
A public hearing on the plan will be held next month and the government will begin revising related laws beginning July, the official said, asking not to be identified.
Under the plan, the academy will recruit 55 students annually.
The students will undergo courses in English for a year. The five lowest achievers will be removed and the remaining will be hired as MOFAT officials.
The first graduates of the academy are scheduled to be hired in August 2013.
There has been a controversy over the selection of diplomats via a written test-based state exam.
As of April 2010, 20 directors of bureaus at the ministry hold their positions from passing the state exam, except for Kim Jong-yong, director of the energy and resources affairs bureau.
This means those diplomats from the exam monopolize almost all key posts at the ministry.
A 2007 report by Seoul National University said the so-called "pure-blood" system at the foreign ministry is a stumbling block in selecting competitive diplomats and leads to disharmony with other ministries and government agencies.
Non-state exam diplomats eventually move to the fringe of the ministry and fail to get opportunities to develop their abilities, the report said.