"Public Sector Hiring Irregularities Eradication Efforts to be More Strengthened"

- ACRC published the outcomes of the presidential agenda achieved by the Yoon Administration in eradicating hiring irregularities over the past two years and its future plan for further improvement

- ACRC investigated reported cases of hiring irregularities and major pending issues… and detected 353 suspicious cases of unfair recruitment as a result of its investigation of an allegation of preferential hiring of family members of those at the National Election Commission last year

(8, May, 2024, ACRC)

Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC, Chairperson Ryu Chul Whan), which has robustly pushed for the eradication of hiring irregularities in the public sector, released the outcomes achieved over the past two years since the launch of the Yoon Administration and a future plan for further eradication.

The Yoon Administration established the Integrated Center for Reporting Hiring Irregularities under the ACRC in Jan. 2023 in order to address unfairness in the public sector employment which is one of the presidential agendas. The Center is performing duties related to investigations of reported cases, specialized training for fair hiring, employment regulation consulting, and institutional improvement.

ACRC receives and handles reports on suspicious cases of hiring irregularities in the public sector. Since the launch of the Center, ACRC has received a total of 181 cases of reports and transferred 66 cases among them to investigative or supervisory agencies for follow-up measures.

< Current Status of Reported Cases of Hiring Irregularities Handled by ACRC >

Furthermore, ongoing efforts include verifying the fairness of the recruitment processes for over 1,400 public agencies and institutions, including public corporations, and investigating incidents of hiring irregularities. Continuous comprehensive surveys on the employment situation of these public agencies and institutions are also being pursued.

In the 2023 results of comprehensive fact-finding investigation into public service-related organizations, a total of 867 cases of violations in fair recruitment practices were discovered, and the ACRC requested investigation to be initiated against 68 individuals involved in recruitment irregularities for prosecution and disciplinary actions. Remedial measures were provided for 14 victims who were unfairly excluded from employment or subsequent recruitment stages.

The 2024 comprehensive fact-finding investigation has been ongoing since February and will be finished by October, and its results are scheduled to be announced in December.

Meanwhile, simultaneous investigations are being conducted into current issues regarding suspicions of hiring irregularities that have become social concerns. Last year, in response to public outrage, the ACRC formed a special investigative team of 37 members, led by the ACRC Vice-Chairperson and Secretary General Jeong Seung-yoon, to conduct on-site investigations for about three months regarding allegations of favoritism involving family members of the National Election Commission.

Regarding the 353 cases identified with unfair recruitment practices, the ACRC requested investigations to be initiated for 312 cases requiring clarification of factual circumstances such as favoritism towards family members or instances of improper solicitation. Additionally, the ACRC have filed charges against 28 individuals suspected of deliberate or habitual corrupt hiring practices.

Furthermore, efforts are underway to improve systems that can prevent occurrences of recruitment irregularities in advance. This includes conducting specialized education on fair recruitment and providing consulting on recruitment regulations to prevent hiring irregularities caused by unfamiliarity with recruitment rules and flaws in recruitment regulations of public institutions.

Regarding the institutional improvement for hiring irregularity prevention, recommendations were made last March to establish fair recruitment standards for non-public servants in all 550 administrative agencies*, including central administrative agencies, local governments, local councils, and education offices.

In the latter half of 2024, institutional improvement efforts are being made to establish mandatory fair hiring standards for 390 other public service-related organizations not subject to laws such as the Public Institutions Operation Act and Local Public Enterprises Act, while preparing for system improvements to achieve transparency in employment and administrative cost reduction through unified recruitment.

For specialized education in fair recruitment, monthly group and online education sessions are being conducted for personnel and audit officials of public service-related organizations. As of April, a total of 5,398 officials from 1,129 organizations have completed the education sessions at the Anti-Corruption Training Institute under the ACRC.

Additionally, consultations on internal regulations of public institutions are conducted year-round to ensure fair hiring by analyzing whether bylaws of these institutions violate higher laws and guidelines. As of April 2024, recommendations were made to improve bylaws of a total of 507 organizations, accounting for 35.9% of all 1,412 public service-related organizations.

* Frequently recommended items: ▴ adherence to preferential treatment for job applicants under the National Merit Service Act,including additional points for national merit recipients and preferential treatment for tied applicants (335 cases) ▴ strengthening management of pre-interview training for interview panelists, such as prohibiting discriminatory questions (331 cases), etc.

ACRC Vice Chairperson and Secretary General Jeong Seung-yoon stated, "The ACRC is concentrating all its efforts to successfully advance the national task of eradicating hiring irregularities in the public sector."

He continued, saying "We will further establish a more rigorous management system to ensure that our younger generation receives fair opportunities when they take their first steps in building their career in the public sector.“