Civic groups may sue YBM over TOEIC fees

Two civic organizations are reviewing plans to sue for compensation as early as next week against YBM Korea TOEIC Commission for taking excessive cancellation fees and charging extra during a special application period.

The Youth Community Union and the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy argued that YBM should refund all past English proficiency test applicants who were forced to pay too much due to these provisions.

According to the YBM website, applicants who cancel their entrance up to a week after the online application deadline can receive 60 percent of the application fee back. This is reduced to a 50 percent refund for cancellations made the week after, and 40 percent for those made until the day before the exam.

Exam-takers who apply during the special application period, which is the 20 days after the main application deadline, have to pay 10 percent more to register. The regular application fee is 42,000 won ($39.5).

The number of people who took the TOEIC to prepare for college and to find jobs was 2.1 million in 2011 and 2 million last year. YBM receives about 84 billion won in revenue every year from running the tests.

(monicasuk@heraldcorp.com)