'Gender Discrimination Interview Controversy' Dong-A Pharmaceutical YouTube Comment Apology... Victim Says "Both Apology Format and Content Are Poor"

A scene from a video released on the 5th on the YouTube entertainment program 'Nego King 2.' Broadcaster Jang Young-ran meets Choi Ho-jin, CEO of Dong-A Pharmaceutical, to negotiate discounts on the company's products. / Photo by Nego King 2 YouTube capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Joo-hee] Dong-A Pharmaceutical, which caused controversy by asking gender-discriminatory questions during the employee recruitment process, apologized through YouTube comments. However, the victim who took the interview at the time demanded a sincere apology again, saying, "Posting the apology in YouTube comments is insufficient, and the content itself is poor."

On the 8th, Ms. A posted a blog entry titled "I am a victim of gender-discriminatory interview at Dong-A Pharmaceutical." She pointed out, "The apology is wrong," and added, "They did not acknowledge the fact that they committed gender discrimination at all and omitted all important content."

This controversy began when the YouTube entertainment program "Nego King 2" aired a segment where host Jang Young-ran visited Dong-A Pharmaceutical and met CEO Choi Ho-jin to negotiate discounts on sanitary pad products.

After watching the video, victim Ms. A posted a message stating, "I was discriminated against during Dong-A Pharmaceutical's recruitment process last year," which was followed by similar testimonials, sparking a controversy over gender discrimination in hiring. Among netizens, criticism against Dong-A Pharmaceutical arose with comments such as "They don't want to hire women but want to sell women's products" and "I will boycott companies that hate women."

In her post, Ms. A said, "Since 2017, I have been donating a certain amount monthly to a low-income sanitary pad support project, so I was more than anyone else pleased with the 'sanitary pad nego' content, but I was shocked to find out that the company targeted for negotiation was Dong-A Pharmaceutical." She continued, "It was absurd that Dong-A Pharmaceutical, which committed gender discrimination against me just because I am a woman during the November 2020 interview, was negotiating for sanitary pads for women."

She then revealed the reason for her disclosure, saying, "I was so angry and disgusted by their hypocrisy that I wrote about the gender discrimination I experienced during last year's Dong-A Pharmaceutical interview in the comments."

According to Ms. A, the interview panel consisted of one practical staff member and one HR team member, and she was interviewed together with two other men.

Ms. A recalled, "The HR team leader asked the two men common questions such as which military unit they served in, what was the hardest part of military life, and what they learned during their service. After the men answered, the HR team leader leaned back with arms crossed in an arrogant posture and asked me, 'Since you are a woman and did not serve in the military, what do you think about receiving a lower salary than men? Do you agree?' It was absurd."

Regarding this question, Ms. A responded, "My older brother is a career soldier, so I fully understand how difficult military life is. However, separate from that, this contradicts the definition of wages under the Labor Standards Act. Wages are compensation paid to a worker for labor performed under the employer's authority and supervision in company affairs, not for labor unrelated to company work outside the company."

Ms. A also criticized Dong-A Pharmaceutical's explanation in a media interview regarding the gender discrimination interview controversy, where they said, "The question arose while preparing a new HR system to improve treatment for military service members compared to non-military service members."

She said, "This means they were building an HR system that favors military service members over women and men exempted from military service due to disability, thus justifying wage discrimination. Since conscription and military bonus points are already major social controversies and issues, this is an attempt to verify the applicant's political views and should never be asked in an interview."

Ms. A also pointed out that Dong-A Pharmaceutical's apology posted in the YouTube comments of "Nego King 2" was "not simply a matter of 'one interviewer not following the interview manual' and cannot be dismissed as just an 'unpleasant' incident."

She said, "The person who asked me the problematic question was not 'one of the interviewers' but the HR team leader," and added, "That person being the HR team leader and committing gender discrimination during recruitment suggests that gender discrimination is not unrelated to the organization's overall culture."

She continued, "Do they think it is appropriate for the times to market to women while perceiving the gender discrimination women experience in reality as merely an 'unpleasant experience'?" She demanded, "Posting the apology in YouTube comments is insufficient, and the content itself is poor. I demand a 'proper' and 'sincere' apology from Dong-A Pharmaceutical."

Earlier, Dong-A Pharmaceutical officially apologized through its official YouTube channel regarding the controversy. Through a comment under CEO Choi Ho-jin's name, Dong-A Pharmaceutical stated, "It was confirmed that during last year's first-round practical interview for new employees, one of the interviewers asked a question that deviated from the interview manual," and expressed apologies.

They added, "We will take disciplinary action against the interviewer and strengthen internal training for interviewers to prevent recurrence. We will comprehensively review the systems and procedures related to recruitment and personnel."