A record 406 applicants from private universities passed the top level civil service exam this fiscal year, accounting for a record 24.3 percent of successful candidates, the National Personnel Authority said Tuesday.
They were among 1,674 successful applicants, down 82 from fiscal 2004, for the Level 1 exam, and the share was up from 22.6 percent last year.
The share of successful applicants from national universities was down 1.6 percentage points to an all-time low of 75.4 percent. The number of successful female candidates fell to 282 from the record high 304 set in 2003.
The exam is considered a prerequisite for getting "career-track" civil service positions leading to senior posts in the bureaucracy.
Among this year's Level 1 exam crop, about 650 people will be employed by various ministries and government agencies, the personnel authority said.