[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Amid growing controversy over the disqualification of Hwang Gyo-ik, the nominee for president of the Gyeonggi Tourism Organization, it has been confirmed that the son of Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung failed the integrated recruitment exam for Gyeonggi Province’s affiliated institutions, drawing attention.
On the 18th, Governor Lee appeared on the YouTube channel 'Maebul Show' and said, "My son took the exam for a position at one of Gyeonggi Province’s affiliated institutions but failed," adding, "He went to a pretty good school and had decent grades. He also applied to many large companies, but he failed all of them," revealing a somewhat shocking fact.
He continued, "I feel sorry for my children," and added, "They truly grew up properly. They never expected any dad-chance or family-chance, and I’m not someone who would do that for them."
Governor Lee has two sons. It is said that he has occasionally expressed regret about his two sons in private, thinking that his children, who graduated from good universities and studied hard because of him, might actually be at a disadvantage. In fact, he recently expressed his sorrow, saying, "(My children are) currently struggling as unemployed."
In the broadcast that day, when asked about his son’s employment status, Lee said, "Recently, he got a job. He is currently working at a small company with five employees."
As this story became known, interest has grown in the integrated recruitment exam of Gyeonggi Province, in which Governor Lee’s son 'tasted defeat.'
The integrated recruitment exam for Gyeonggi Province public institutions was introduced in 2015 during the tenure of former Governor Nam Kyung-pil to ensure transparent and fair hiring and equal testing opportunities. The core of the integrated recruitment is that Gyeonggi Province conducts the document screening and written exams, which were previously held separately by each affiliated institution.
After taking office as governor in 2018, Lee reportedly praised the system, saying, "The integrated recruitment exam for public institutions introduced during Governor Nam Kyung-pil’s administration is an extremely fair and excellent system." He then instructed that all affiliated institutions select new employees through the integrated recruitment. During this process, some public institutions complained about the inconvenience of not being able to adjust the timing freely, but Lee institutionalized the selection of new employees twice a year, in the first and second half of the year, through integrated recruitment.
With the news that Governor Lee’s son failed the Gyeonggi Province integrated recruitment exam, attention is now focused on the appointment process of nominee Hwang Gyo-ik, who has recently been embroiled in controversy over favoritism appointments.
A provincial official explained, "When selecting heads of public institutions under the province, the selection criteria traditionally favored government officials or retired public servants from Gyeonggi Province. In 2018, the Gyeonggi Provincial Council proposed changing this to a merit-based open recruitment system, which Gyeonggi Province accepted. After consultations with each institution, guidelines were established," adding, "The appointment of nominee Hwang followed these guidelines."
In fact, the province held consultations twice with the Gyeonggi Tourism Organization in December 2018 and November 2019 to prepare personnel guidelines for the president. The guidelines include selecting a president who: ▲ has abundant knowledge and experience in tourism marketing, development, or public enterprises ▲ possesses qualities and character as a manager ▲ has the ability to harmonize drive, communication, and public interest ▲ excels in external negotiation skills ▲ has business capabilities oriented toward change and reform.
The province compressed the pool of candidates according to the personnel guidelines established three years ago, and after receiving recommendations from the personnel committee, Governor Lee made the final selection of the presidential nominee.
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