[Column] Yoon Government Advocates Fairness Yet Abolishes Blind Recruitment?

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] The Yoon Seok-yeol administration is pushing to abolish the blind recruitment system in government-funded research institutes. The reason cited is that it is difficult to hire outstanding talent and there are many problems such as unqualified candidates passing. The issue originated from controversies such as the hiring of a Chinese national at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute in 2019 and the failure to detect fraudulent employment at the National Research Foundation of Korea. After focused criticism during the National Assembly audit last October, the decision to abolish the system was finalized.

Blind recruitment is a system that hides personal information such as alma mater, academic advisor, parents, nationality, and gender to prevent unfair hiring based on academic background and credentials, and selects outstanding talent solely based on ability. It is unrelated to political ideology such as progressive or conservative views. The system was introduced by the Park Geun-hye administration in 2015 based on the National Competency Standards (NCS), which aimed to create a society evaluated by ability rather than academic background or credentials, and was inherited and developed by the Moon Jae-in administration. The Yoon Seok-yeol administration, which has made securing outstanding talent for scientific and technological advancement its top national priority under the motto of ‘fairness and common sense,’ should be encouraging this system even more. It is ironic that they are now moving to abolish it.

Let’s first examine the claim that it is difficult to secure outstanding talent. The complaint is that they cannot select talents trained under renowned overseas research institutes or foreign scholars. However, ‘credentials’ themselves do not guarantee 100% excellent research ability. Most government-funded research institutes evaluate research achievements such as papers, patents, and technologies rather than academic background or credentials after introducing the blind recruitment system. This can prevent the ‘error of rejecting qualified candidates’ who are eliminated due to lack of credentials or background. In fact, according to a 2019 survey by the Human Resources Development Service of Korea, after the introduction of blind recruitment in public institutions, the number of universities attended by new hires increased from 10.3 to 13.1, showing positive results.

The controversy over hiring Chinese nationals was also a misunderstanding. Although nationality and resident registration numbers were not collected, allowing applications, identity verification could still be conducted before the final acceptance decision. False career claims and fraudulent employment are criminal acts unrelated to blind recruitment.

Some in the science and technology community are concerned that the ‘erasing of the previous administration’ is shaking the national personnel system that has been built over a long period. Job seekers for public institutions are equally confused, and this move goes against global trends. A reconsideration is necessary.