Faculty Hiring Halted After 'Yoo Seungmin's Daughter' Was Rejected... Hired the Following Semester

Yoo Dam Fails First-Round Screening for Incheon National University's International Business Faculty Position
Questions Raised Over Halting Recruitment Despite Remaining Valid Applicants

It has been confirmed that Yoo Dam (31), daughter of former National Assembly member Yoo Seungmin, applied for a tenure-track faculty position in the Department of International Business at the School of Business Administration at Incheon National University for the first semester of 2025, but was eliminated in the first round of screening, after which the hiring process was halted. No tenure-track faculty were hired for the School of Business Administration that semester, and in the following semester, Yoo applied for a tenure-track faculty position in the Department of Trade and was ultimately selected.

Yoo Dam, daughter of former lawmaker Yoo Seungmin. Yoo Seungmin YouTube channel

According to NoCut News and the office of Democratic Party lawmaker Jin Sunmi on the 30th, Yoo applied for a tenure-track faculty position in the Department of International Business at the School of Business Administration at Incheon National University for the first semester of 2025. At the time, the job requirements specified that applicants must hold or expect to receive a doctoral degree, and supporting documents were required. However, Yoo did not submit the required documents.

The issue is that the tenure-track hiring process did not proceed any further. In November 2024, Incheon National University decided to halt the screening process. The university’s statement of reasons for non-recommendation at the time noted, "Among the applicants for the tenure-track faculty position in the field of Strategy and International Business for the first semester of the 2025 academic year, four did not hold a doctoral degree. After reviewing the documents of 18 applicants, only two were deemed to meet the requirements for the field of Strategy and International Business." It further stated, "It was decided to halt the screening process because it was deemed difficult to proceed with the hiring process with only two valid applicants."

While it is not uncommon to halt hiring when there are no suitable candidates, some have expressed surprise that the process was stopped even though there were two valid applicants. Lawmaker Jin Sunmi stated, "It is questionable why Incheon National University deprived the two valid applicants of the opportunity to be reviewed," adding, "I hope a thorough police investigation will reveal whether the hiring process was intended for Yoo Dam."

Subsequently, Yoo applied for and was accepted for a tenure-track faculty position in the Department of Trade at Incheon National University for the second semester of the same year. It appears that the School of Business Administration’s International Business field, for which Yoo had previously applied, did not proceed with hiring afterward.

Regarding this, an official from Incheon National University stated, "It is true that Yoo was eliminated in the hiring process for the tenure-track faculty position in the Department of International Business at the School of Business Administration," but added, "However, as far as I know, the reason the hiring did not proceed further was not because of Yoo. As the matter is under investigation, I cannot provide further details."