The Foreign Ministry said it will administer the first admission test for the tentatively named Korea National Diplomat Academy in early 2013 to secure a pool of trained diplomats who can serve from 2014.

As the current written exam for recruiting diplomats will be scrapped soon, the government is to select about 60 trainees through the admission test and choose 40 of them to work at the Foreign Ministry.

The government’s move came as it believes the new system of diplomat recruitment will help make the government better staffed with experts in a variety of fields.

Under the government’s plan, the admission test will be carried out in three areas ― a test for general diplomats taking up 60 percent of the total trainees, a test for regional experts taking up 20 percent and a test for field experts taking up 20 percent.

Regional experts are required to have expertise and advanced language proficiency in the Middle East, Africa, Central and South America and Russia. Field experts should possess expertise in arms, multinational security, energy, resources, environment, international trade or finance.

The new tests will be conducted in multi-phases ― resumes and referenced documents, written tests and a final interview, according to the Foreign Ministry.

Launched in 1968, the current written test system has often been criticized for failing to secure personnel diversity and test applicants properly on their foreign language skills.

“The conventional written test is something that drives aspiring diplomats into giving up all the other activities except for studying to pass the exam. This upcoming test will focus on evaluating applicants’ potential and capability rather than knowledge alone,” a senior government official said.

“One-year training at the academy will make a huge difference in nurturing diplomats. The training period will be three semesters without a break, which will be pretty tight for students.”

In June, the National Assembly passed a bill to scrap the written exam and establish the academy, which was initiated by President Lee Myung-bak and the ruling Grand National Party.

By Kim Yoon-mi (yoonmi@heraldcorp.com)