The Ministry of Employment and Labor has launched an investigation into allegations of preferential hiring of the daughter of Prosecutor General Sim Woo-jeong at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the 8th, a report was filed that claimed the Prosecutor General's daughter was preferentially hired by the National Diplomacy Institute despite not meeting the qualifications, violating the Act on the Fairness of Employment Procedures (Employment Procedures Act) in relation to this allegation. The Ministry of Employment and Labor has not disclosed the identity of the reporter.
Article 4, Section 2 of the Employment Procedures Act states that employers (hiring institutions) must not change job advertisement contents to the disadvantage of job seekers without just cause. A fine of up to 5 million won will be imposed for violation. Furthermore, Section 2 of the same Article stipulates that anyone must not make unjust requests, pressures, or coercion regarding hiring, and violating this will result in a fine of up to 30 million won.
The Prosecutor General's daughter majored in international cooperation at the Graduate School of International Studies and worked as a temporary researcher at the National Diplomacy Institute for eight months last year. This year, she was ultimately accepted as a researcher at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In this regard, members of the Democratic Party, belonging to the National Assembly's Committee on Foreign Affairs and Unification, raised suspicions that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had preferentially hired the Prosecutor General's daughter.
According to the Democratic Party, the National Diplomacy Institute required applicants to have a major in 'education, humanities, social sciences, communication studies,' and to be either a master's degree holder in the relevant field or someone with over two years of work experience in the field. However, the Prosecutor General's daughter was a 'master's degree candidate' nearing graduation from the Graduate School of International Studies at that time, which meant she did not meet the qualifications but was accepted, according to the Democratic Party.
Regarding the next position the Prosecutor General's daughter was accepted for, a level Na public official at the Research Institute of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry initially stated in the job announcement that it would hire 'master's degree holders in the economic field.' The Democratic Party noted that after conducting final interviews, the Ministry disqualified candidates and published a new announcement changing the hiring criteria. The new announcement stated that candidates must be 'master's degree holders in the field of international politics with more than two years of practical experience in the field and fluent in English.' The Prosecutor General's daughter applied again and was accepted.
In this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, 'The hiring process is being conducted transparently and fairly in accordance with relevant laws.' Nevertheless, as the Democratic Party continued to raise suspicions, it has filed a request for a public audit with the Board of Audit and Inspection. The Prosecutor General also stated that this was 'information already clarified and verified during the personnel hearing process,' asserting that the allegations are unfounded.