"Influence Exerted for Children's Employment
Through Illegal and Irregular Methods"
The Board of Audit and Inspection uncovered that seven city and provincial election commissions, including the Seoul Election Commission, conducted preferential hiring through multiple misconducts such as family and relative recruitment requests, manipulation of interview scores, and falsification of personnel documents by former secretaries-general and others, and demanded severe disciplinary actions against a total of 32 individuals.
On the 27th, the Board of Audit and Inspection disclosed the results of the audit on the "Personnel Management Practices including Recruitment at Election Commissions," revealing that personnel officers at the election commissions passed candidates or gave preferential treatment or exclusion to specific individuals through various illegal and irregular methods.
According to the Board of Audit and Inspection, preferential hiring at election commissions mainly occurred in career competitive recruitment. A comprehensive inspection of 167 career recruitments since 2013 found a total of 662 violations of regulations. The Central Election Commission also confirmed 216 cases of violations of rules and procedures in 124 career recruitments conducted from 2013 to 2023.
Kim Se-hwan, former Secretary-General of the Central Election Commission (ministerial level), exerted influence in 2019 to have his son hired as a grade 8 public official at the Incheon Ganghwa-gun Election Commission. Despite no vacancies, career recruitment slots were allocated, and the announcement matched his son's personal information while guiding document screening based on different criteria. The examiners were composed only of internal members who had worked with him. Furthermore, the Incheon Election Commission reduced the service period requirement for his son's transfer and applied for housing provision even though he was not eligible.
Song Bong-seop, former Deputy Secretary-General of the Central Election Commission (vice-ministerial level), was found to have requested recruitment of his child by calling the person in charge at the Chungbuk Election Commission after hearing in 2018 that his daughter wanted to go there, revealing his identity and asking for a recommendation to the Danyang-gun Election Commission. When Chungbuk Election Commission rejected the application citing the applicant's age, a non-competitive recruitment with a single applicant was conducted at Danyang-gun Election Commission, resulting in acceptance.
Park Chan-jin, former Secretary-General of the Central Election Commission, did not notify the Central Election Commission after directly approving the transfer of his child who passed the career recruitment in 2022 when he was Deputy Secretary-General, and only admitted the fact after reports of preferential hiring allegations surfaced.
The Gyeongnam Election Commission and Seoul Election Commission required internal members to write interview scores only in pencil during the 2021 career recruitment, later changing the scores to disqualify rightful candidates and allow children and others to pass. The Board of Audit and Inspection pointed out, "The Central Election Commission prepared personnel-related laws and standards loosely and carelessly, knowingly responding passively to family recruitment, and encouraged illegal and irregular hiring by violating national public official laws."
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