Information Processing Engineer Exam Strategy [Theory] 👺 | 2025 Exam 2 Forecast

❗️ This guide is not for those who intend to study the entire theory portion of the practical exam from start to finish.

This post is for those who:

1. Don't have enough time to cover the vast scope of the exam.
2. Find the scope too overwhelming to study.
3. Tend to forget what they've memorized quickly.

If you fall into any of these categories, this guide will be helpful.

2025 Exam 2 Practical Exam Forecast Summary

⚡️ If you're cramming, study the topics below first.

Probability - 💯: 100%, ⭐️: 80%, 🔥: 50%

Information Processing Engineer Practical Exam Summary PDF

This is a highly condensed theory summary PDF for those cramming for the exam. It includes the content from the table above. You can download it from the link below.

Link: Download Jeongcheogi Practical Theory Summary PDF for 2025 Exam 2 Cramming

If you have time, study all the expected topics for each subject below.

Jump to Expected Topics by Subject 🏃‍💨

• DB Subject
• SW Development Subject
• SW Design Subject
• Network/OS Subject
• Security Subject

Main Subjects for the Practical Exam Theory Questions

❗️ When including SQL queries (DB subject) in theory questions.

• The table above shows the number of questions per major subject from 2023 to the first exam of 2025.
• The DB construction subject, which includes SQL queries, is the most important, followed by the programming language utilization subject, which includes Network and OS.
• As the theory question format has stabilized over the past two years, it is expected that the theory questions for the second exam of 2025 will follow a similar structure.

2025 Exam 2 Practical Exam Theory Question Forecast

How to Predict Practical Exam Theory Questions

• The number of theory questions steadily decreased from 2021 to 2023.
• This was intended to put more emphasis on coding problems.
• As the number of theory questions decreased, the important theory topics, as judged by the examiners, became apparent in 2023 and 2024.
• Based on this trend, we have predicted the theory questions for the second exam of 2025.

2025 Exam 2 Expected Questions: DB Subject

Probability - 💯: 100%, ⭐️: 80%, 🔥: 50%, 🤔: 20%

2025 Exam 2 Expected Questions: SW Development Subject

Probability - 💯: 100%, ⭐️: 80%, 🔥: 50%, 🤔: 20%

2025 Exam 2 Expected Questions: SW Design Subject

Probability - 💯: 100%, ⭐️: 80%, 🔥: 50%, 🤔: 20%

2025 Exam 2 Expected Questions: Network/OS Subject

Probability - 💯: 100%, ⭐️: 80%, 🔥: 50%, 🤔: 20%

2025 Exam 2 Expected Questions: Security Subject

Probability - 💯: 100%, ⭐️: 80%, 🔥: 50%, 🤔: 20%

Increased Importance of Theory Questions

Due to the rising difficulty of coding questions, you now need to get 7 theory questions correct to pass.

(Based on the first exam of 2025, there were 5 easy/medium coding questions out of 9. Assuming you get all 5 of these right, you need to answer 7 theory questions correctly to pass.)

• To cover security, you need to memorize a vast number of terms.
• Security is expected to take the most time in the theory part, despite its lower priority.
• The SW Design subject has a narrow scope, and new types of problems are unlikely to appear.
• Therefore, a strategy of skipping security and mastering the SW Design subject is advantageous for reducing study time.

Study Strategy for Coding Problems

A solid foundation in C, Java, and Python is essential for solving coding problems. (A post on this is planned for a future update.)

If you understand these subjects well, you can solve any application problem.

Recommended Books for the Practical Exam

The Soojebi series is a relatively good choice for preparing for the practical exam. Studying them alongside blog posts is effective.

Soojebi Information Processing Engineer Practical Final Mock Exam

• For certification exams like this, solving many problems is always helpful.
• It contains a vast number of problems, allowing for repeated practice.
• However, for theory questions, it tries to cover too broad a range, resulting in many niche problems.
• This can lead to low mock exam scores and a loss of motivation.
• Even if you get them wrong, don't try to memorize every obscure theory question; it's important to keep solving all of them.
• It's recommended to start with the latest past papers instead of starting from the first one (try solving them in reverse chronological order).
• Starting from the first paper might lead to too many wrong answers, increasing the chance of giving up.

Soojebi Information Processing Engineer Practical Basic Books 1-2

• Some parts of the theory are well-explained, while others are not.
• The well-explained parts are very easy to understand with diagrams.
• If you are strong at rote memorization, this book alone might be sufficient.
• It is recommended to solve past papers first and then look up the parts you got wrong in the book (this helps with interest and focus).

Soojebi Cafe

• Very helpful for continuous updates with additional materials.
• Following the Soojebi Cafe - 10-Week Study and Schedule Guide is recommended (helpful for studying the entire scope).
• Daily problems are also updated, and it's recommended to solve them.

List of Related Posts

Design Patterns

View Design Patterns Post List

SQL

DB (Database)

View DB (Database) Post List

Cohesion & Coupling

Testing

View Testing Post List

Interface Implementation

View Interface Implementation Post List

Security

View Security Post List

New Technologies

View New Technologies Post List

Network

View Network Post List

OS

UML Diagrams

View UML Diagrams Post List

By the way

• Since there are no changes to the exam criteria in 2026, the same strategy can be applied.

==== Update History ====

• 7/18 Added download link for the practical theory summary PDF.
• 7/14 Added Network Layer Protocols, Data Link Protocols and Error Control, and Subnet Mask.
• 7/13 Added Memory Management, Process Scheduling, New Tech & Devices, Test Harness, and chmod.
• 7/12 Revised strategy after analyzing trends from 2021 to the first exam of 2025.
• 7/11 Confirmed no changes between the revised 2023 exam criteria and previous criteria.
• 7/10 Revised strategy after analyzing trends from 2024 and the first exam of 2025.
• 7/9 First draft posted.

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