On March 9, 2007, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) recommended that the Seoul Metropolitan Government make appropriate accommodations for persons with visual impairments who apply to take a written examination for employment as a local public servant. In response, the Seoul Metropolitan Government accepted the recommendation and notified the NHRCK of its intention to make examination-related accommodations for visually impaired applicants, beginning with the examination for the hiring of local public servants scheduled for July 8, 2007.
Said accommodations consented to by the Seoul Metropolitan Government are as follows:
- Provision of question sheets in Braille: These sheets will be provided to visually impaired examinees who apply for such a provision by attaching a doctor"s diagnosis in writing attesting that the applicant has a corrected eyesight of 0.04 or lower for both eyes and a visual field of 10 degrees or lower. Voice-operated computers will also be provided to aspiring applicants. These applicants will be granted 50% more test time than applicants with no disabilities.
- Provision of question sheets in large font: These sheets shall be provided to visually impaired examinees who apply for such a provision by attaching a doctor"s diagnosis in writing attesting that the applicant has the corrected eyesight of between 0.04 and lower than 0.3 for both eyes. Such sheets shall be provided in two formats: 150% or 200% magnification. These examinees will be granted 20% more time than applicants with no disabilities.
* Applicants for the job class alloted to persons with disabilities shall be preferentially assigned to schools with elevators or examination rooms located on the first floor.
Welcoming the Seoul Metropolitan Government"s acceptance of its recommendation, the NHRCK has expressed its hope that such action will serve as a catalyst to improve other examination systems, including the examination for the hiring of central public servants by the Civil Service Commission and the examination for the employment of local public servants by local governments that still lack proper test-related accommodations for applicants with disabilities.
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Details of Examination-Related Accommodations To Be Provided by the Seoul Metropolitan Government to Visually-Impaired Applicants
Provision of Examination-Related Accommodations
* Question sheets in braille
- Targets: Examinees who apply for provision of such sheets by attaching a doctor"s written diagnosis that they have the corrected eyesight of 0.04 or lower for both eyes and the visual field of 10 degrees or lower
- Voice-operated computers will also be provided to the aspiring applicants.
- Test time: 50% more test time
* Question sheets in large font
- Targets: Examinees who apply for provision of such sheets by attaching a doctor"s written diagnosis that they have the corrected eyesight of 0.04 to lower than 0.3 for both eyes (possible to select the font size and type)
- Question sheet standards
․Sheet size: B4 (current)
․Font size: 2 types (150% or 200% magnification)
․Font type: 2 types (Shinmyeongjo or Gyeongothic)
․Number of printed pages: 3 to 4 fold increase, compared with that of ordinary question sheets
- Test time: 20% more test time
Provision of Facility-Related Accommodations
* Applicants for the job class alloted to persons with disabilities shall be preferentially assigned to schools with elevators or test rooms located on the first floor.
* Helpers shall be additionally deployed at the site of examination accommodating applicants with disabilities.
Provision Timing: Beginning from the examination for the Seoul Metropolitan Government"s hiring of local public servants in 2007
