"Will Create Public Official Verification Exam" Private Research Institute Filed Lawsuit... Court Says "It's the State's Responsibility"

The court ruled that the government's decision not to approve the registration of a private qualification exam for verifying public office candidates was justified. This was because the verification of public office candidates should be conducted at the national level.

Seoul Administrative Court.

According to the legal community on the 28th, the Seoul Administrative Court Administrative Division 4 (Presiding Judge Kim Jeong-jung) recently ruled against the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by Research Institute A against the Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, seeking to nullify the refusal to register a private qualification.

In 2021, Research Institute A applied for registration of a private qualification called ‘Gongjik Huboja Neungryeok Geomjeong’ (Public Office Candidate Competency Test), which is intended to verify the competency of individuals aspiring to become elected public officials such as public election candidates or preliminary candidates, to the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training, which was entrusted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to manage private qualification registrations.

However, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety decided not to register this private qualification, stating that it falls under the category of “fields related to acts that harm good morals or violate social order,” which is prohibited by the Framework Act on Qualifications.

Displeased with the decision, Research Institute A filed a lawsuit, arguing that “the purpose of the public office candidate competency qualification project is to promote local autonomy and grassroots democracy by verifying the competency of elected public officials or candidates through qualification exams.” They further claimed, “Free verification of public office candidates should be fully guaranteed in modern society where many public officials are elected by voting,” and “the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s view that this violates social order is an abuse and deviation of discretion, thus illegal.”

However, the court sided with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. The court stated, “Verification of public office candidates is directly linked to trust in the election system and needs to be managed at the national level,” and “considering the high possibility of confusion with the duties performed by the Election Commission, there is a risk of misunderstanding among candidates and the public.”