By Kim Tae-gyu
Staff Reporter
The U.S.-based Educational Testing Service (ETS) and Korea's YBM-Sisa may be sweating as their huge revenues could be undermined by the nation's attempt to introduce a national test to replace TOEIC.
The Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) said Friday that the agency will carry out mock examinations of its newly-developed English test on Saturday. About 2,000 people will participate in 14 cities across the country.
The KCCI is not making a secret of its goal ― the new test is aimed as a TOEIC killer. Currently, the ETS commissions YBM-Sisa to administer TOEIC for some 2 million applicants every year here.
"In cooperation with professors at Seoul National University, Korea University and other colleges, we have come up with this government-backed English test that can replace TOEIC," KCCI official Kim Eui-gu said.
"After conducting a couple more pilot tests we will strive to officially initiate it in 2012 so that companies can take advantage of it to check the English proficiency of their employees or new recruits."
Kim said that the new test will be an Internet-based one composed of writing, listening, reading and speaking similar to other tests currently available. It will last two hours and 40 minutes with 108 questions.
Ever since TOEIC debuted here in 1982, numerous Koreans have taken the exam and the number is still on the increase. Domestic organizations, mostly Seoul-based universities, have attempted to develop tests to replace TOEIC to little avail.
Neither ETS nor YBM-Sisa disclose their revenues or royalties, but observers estimate it could reach more than 100 billion won.
However, the KCCI said things would be different this time around even though the outfit admits that it is a tall task to compete with the experienced pair of ETS and YBM-Sisa.
"We have checked exactly what companies want. Plus, we got help from globally famous test organizers through our international networks to define the quality of our test," Kim said.
"We also expect that many of our member corporations, whose number amounts to around 120,000, will employ our test under the initiative of the Seoul administration.''
However, YBM-Sisa do not seem to be worrying that much.
"It takes a really long time for a new test to take root. Accordingly, I don't expect that the new KCCI test will substantially undercut our presence here," a spokesperson at YBM-Sisa said.
"In addition, I think that Korea needs to embrace tests with international reputations for the benefit of the country because this is the global era. The ever-rising number of TOEIC takers amply demonstrates this necessity."
