Korea Widens First-Stage Exam Waivers for Certified Disaster Managers

South Korea has widened the exemption regime for its certified disaster manager qualification exam, allowing candidates who already hold related safety and disaster-management credentials to skip all or part of the first-stage test. President 이재명 promulgated the change as 법률 제22055호, a partial amendment to the 재난 및 안전관리 기본법 (Framework Act on Disaster and Safety Management), in Gazette No. 21336 of 8 October 2026, where it is published in the statutes section on page 4.

What the amendment changes

The law rewrites two clauses of Article 75-3 of the Framework Act, the article that governs the 공인재난관리사 (certified disaster manager) qualification examination.

• Article 75-3(3): the phrase “the first-stage exam” is replaced by “part or all of the first-stage exam”.
• Article 75-3(9): the phrase “test method” is replaced by “test method, scope of exam exemption”.

The explanatory note supplied by the 법제처 (Ministry of Government Legislation) states the purpose plainly: where a person already holds a qualification related to disaster and safety management under the 국가기술자격법 (National Technical Qualifications Act) or another law, the first-stage exam of the certified disaster manager qualification test may be waived in whole or in part. The stated aim is to bring the certified disaster manager qualification system into line with reality.

Who is affected and when

The bill was adopted by the National Assembly and promulgated by the President, with the text countersigned by Prime Minister 한성숙, the Minister of the Interior and Safety 윤호중, and the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries 황종우.

• Beneficiaries: holders of disaster and safety management qualifications obtained under the 국가기술자격법 or other laws, who may now be exempted from the whole or part of the first-stage exam.
• Scope of the change: only Article 75-3(3) and Article 75-3(9) are amended; the second-stage examination is untouched.
• Entry into force: six months after promulgation, in April 2027, under the law’s supplementary provision.

A busy regulatory issue

법률 제22055호 opens the statutes section of Gazette No. 21336, an issue that also carries subordinate legislation:

• 기후에너지환경부령 제61호, a fully revised enforcement rule for the Special Act on Relief and Support for Humidifier Disinfectant Victims, effective 8 October 2026.
• 행정안전부령 제642호, a correction to the enforcement rule of the Public Records Management Act.
• 행정안전부령 제646호, an amendment to the enforcement rule of the Excursion Ship and Ferry Business Act.

Why it matters

For readers working in disaster prevention, civil defence and emergency response, the amendment lowers a formal barrier that has separated holders of adjacent technical qualifications from the certified disaster manager credential. Because Article 75-3(9) now requires the exemption scope itself to be defined in the rules on test method, exam administrators and training providers will have to publish that scope before the change takes effect in April 2027, giving candidates a clearer route into the profession.

Source: 관보 (Republic of Korea Official Gazette), No. 21336, 8 October 2026, 【법률】 (Statutes), p. 4 (official reference: 법률 제22055호).