6,000 Thai Civil Servants Face Dismissal Over Exam Cheating Scandal

Thailand’s Interior Minister, Worasit Liangprasit, has said that the uncovering of cheating in a civil service recruitment examination will cause nearly 6,000 local government officials to lose their jobs this month.

Speaking as reported by the Bangkok Post on Wednesday (5 August), Worasit said that precisely 5,925 local government officials would lose their positions.

Worasit said that the committee investigating the examination and the management of local administration officials would hold meetings on Wednesday (5 August) and Thursday (6 August) local time. He stated that the local authorities would act swiftly to remove those involved in exam fraud from their posts.

Worasit described the cheating practice as Thailand’s biggest corruption case. Around 10,000 people, he said, were involved in the operation, which came to light in June.

The main focus of the investigation is the 2025 recruitment examination for the Department of Local Administration. The department had appointed Srinakharinwirot University, a leading Thai university, to administer the exam.

More than 400,000 candidates competed for 6,669 vacancies.

Investigators suspect that a network had collected funds exceeding 4 billion baht (Rp 2.1 trillion) from applicants seeking guaranteed job placements.

Discussing the case on Monday (3 August), Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) Commissioner Police Lieutenant General Nathasak Chaowanasai said that police had named 13 people as suspects, five of whom had confessed to the charges.

One of the suspects is a senior official from Srinakharinwirot University.