Anti-Corruption Commission uncovers 867 cases of hiring corruption in public-related organizations... 68 referred for investigation and disciplinary action requested

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) detected a total of 867 cases of unfair hiring practices across 454 public service-related organizations and requested investigations or disciplinary actions against 68 individuals involved.

Jeong Seung-yoon, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, is announcing the results of a full-scale investigation into the hiring practices of public-related organizations on the morning of the 6th at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission]

On this day, Jeong Seung-yoon, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of the ACRC, announced the results of a comprehensive hiring practice survey conducted jointly with central administrative agencies such as the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, local governments, and education offices. The survey covered 825 public service-related organizations from February to October this year at the Government Complex Seoul. The ACRC stated that out of the total 1,364 public service-related organizations, 539 were excluded from this year's survey as no recent hiring irregularities had occurred.

Among the 867 detected cases of hiring irregularities, 2 were referred for investigation, 42 were subject to disciplinary requests, and 823 received warnings or cautions. Regarding the 2 cases referred for investigation, the ACRC explained that these involved "cases where the fairness of personnel affairs was significantly compromised by intervening or influencing hiring in violation of laws." Specifically, the secretary general of Organization A was involved in the entire hiring process for a team leader position?from planning the recruitment to holding the personnel committee meeting and posting announcements?yet applied for and was ultimately hired for the position. Additionally, the head of Institution B, upon a close acquaintance failing the document screening, ordered a re-examination of the screening and exclusion of some evaluators' scores to ensure the candidate’s final appointment. The 42 disciplinary requests included serious negligence that could affect the ranking of successful candidates or applicants during the hiring process.

The number of victims affected by the detected hiring irregularities was identified as 14. The ACRC stated that it will continuously manage to ensure that remedial measures for these individuals are effectively implemented. Furthermore, to prevent hiring irregularities, the ACRC conducted consulting on hiring-related regulations for public service-related organizations and recommended improvements on a total of 8,130 items across 331 institutions. The most frequently recommended improvement items included compliance with additional points and tie-breaker preferences for employment support recipients under the Act on Honorable Treatment and Support of Persons of Distinguished Services to the State (319 cases), strengthening pre-interview training and management of interviewers to prohibit discriminatory questions (314 cases), and specifying requirements for appointing external members, such as prohibiting appointments within three years of retirement (311 cases).

Vice Chairman Jeong said, "We must guarantee that everyone has a fair opportunity to compete based on their abilities through a fair hiring process," adding, "I hope that the results of this comprehensive survey and hiring regulation consulting will serve as a foundation for eradicating hiring irregularities and establishing a culture of fair recruitment."