CEO Choi Hojin Issues Apology Statement: "Sincerely Apologize to the Applicant"
[Asia Economy Reporter Nahana] Dong-A Pharmaceutical, embroiled in allegations of 'gender discrimination in hiring' for asking discriminatory questions to women during job interviews, has issued an apology statement under the name of CEO Choi Hojin.
On the 5th, Dong-A Pharmaceutical announced a discount sale of its 'Tempo' sanitary pad product through the web variety show 'Nego King 2' on the YouTube channel Dallas Studio. The video reached approximately 1.2 million views within a day of its release.
A company review stating that gender discrimination was experienced during the 2020 Dong-A Pharmaceutical new employee recruitment process. Photo by JobPlanet, screenshot of the review screen.
However, comments appeared under the video claiming experiences of gender discrimination during Dong-A Pharmaceutical's hiring process. Subsequently, many netizens raised suspicions of 'gender discrimination in hiring' citing similar experiences. Among them, a comment with about 30 million likes stated, "I had an interview there at age 26," and shared, "During the interview, they asked, 'If you have a boyfriend of three years, you will get married soon,' and said, 'Women can't quit after marriage, so they are not acceptable.' The interviewers were extremely sarcastic throughout the interview," recounting their experience.
Similar accounts have been posted on the company review site 'Job Planet.' In the company review section where interview experiences are shared, it was noted that during the first practical interview for new hires at Dong-A Pharmaceutical in 2020, one interviewer made remarks such as, "Do you agree that women should be paid less than men because they do not serve in the military?" and "Do you plan to serve in the military?"
The allegations quickly spread across online communities, leading to calls for a boycott.
As the controversy grew, Dong-A Pharmaceutical posted an apology statement under CEO Choi Hojin's name in the comment section of the YouTube video on the 6th, the day after the allegations surfaced.
Dong-A Pharmaceutical stated, "It has been confirmed that during the first practical interview for new hires on November 16, 2020, one of the interviewers asked unpleasant questions to an applicant that deviated from the company's interview manual," adding, "We have disciplined the interviewer and will strengthen internal training for interviewers to prevent recurrence. We will comprehensively review our HR and hiring systems and procedures. We sincerely apologize to the applicant and deeply apologize for causing concern to our customers due to this incident." They also conveyed their apologies to the production team of 'Nego King 2.'
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