The number of people wishing to get a foot on the ladder to a top bureaucratic post has declined sharply this year, according to an interim report released Friday by the National Personnel Authority.
Applicants for the Level I examination for civil servants stood at 8,200 as of Thursday, with the authority having started accepting applications on Tuesday, according to the report.
This represents a mere 22 percent of the 37,163 candidates that took the test last year.
If the current sluggish pace of applications continues, the number of applicants may end up below 30,000.
In releasing the unprecedented interim report, the authority said, "We are still hoping many people will take the test since we are accepting applications up until an April 8 postmark."
Officials traced the decline to the much shortened eight-day application period -- compared with the 38 days given last year -- and an overlap with students' spring vacation.