Refusal to Accept Human Rights Commission Recommendation to Lift Hiring Restrictions for Only Christians at Chongshin University and Others

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[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jeong] The National Human Rights Commission announced on the 7th that it did not accept the recommendation that Chongshin University, Sungkyul University, Hannam University, and others should not restrict the hiring of faculty and staff to Christians.

In December 2018, the Human Rights Commission recommended to the presidents of these universities that, except in cases essential to achieving the founding purpose, they should not limit qualifications to Christians when hiring faculty and staff. The Commission judged that since these schools were not established to train clergy but are higher education institutions considering public interest, the requirement of being a Christian does not constitute a "genuine occupational qualification" (qualifications or requirements necessary to perform the job).

However, the schools stated that "religious qualification restrictions when hiring administrative staff are essential conditions to achieve the founding purpose of church-affiliated schools," and rejected the Commission's recommendation.

The Human Rights Commission stated, "In 2010 and 2019, it also recommended four private universities not to restrict faculty hiring qualifications to a specific religion, and the universities accepted this," adding, "Restricting all faculty and staff qualifications to Christians constitutes employment discrimination based on religion."

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