Human Rights Commission: "Refusal of Employment Due to Race or Skin Color Constitutes Employment Discrimination"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] The National Human Rights Commission has determined that rejecting employment based on race or skin color constitutes employment discrimination.

On the 6th, the Human Rights Commission recommended to the CEO of Company A, a hotel laundry service contractor, to ▲confirm the reemployment intention of the complainant who was rejected due to race or skin color and take remedial measures ▲ensure that employment discrimination based on skin color does not recur ▲conduct human rights education for employees.

The complainant, Mr. B (34), who is staying in Korea with refugee status (F-2 residence visa), applied for a laundry staff position at Hotel B operated by Company A on January 14 last year. After passing the interview, he was told by Manager D, the on-site manager of Hotel C, that he had been accepted. Subsequently, Manager D informed the complainant about the tasks he would be assigned, introduced the laundry environment and equipment, and even introduced him to other employees as a new recruit. However, the next day, the complainant filed a complaint urging the enactment of a 'Racial Discrimination Prohibition Act' in Korea, claiming that he was subjected to employment discrimination due to his dark skin color and was rejected from employment.

In response, Manager D of Company A, who conducted the laundry staff interview at Hotel C, stated, "We considered the complainant as one of the candidates for employment, introduced the laundry environment and equipment, and said we would inform him of the hiring decision later." He added, "Considering the nature of laundry work where communication and collaboration are important, we notified the complainant of the rejection via text message. When the complainant asked for the reason, feeling sorry, the manager of Hotel B's laundry room replied without much thought that 'the manager is uncomfortable because the complainant attracts attention from others.'

Article 5 of the 'International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination' stipulates that 'everyone has the right to work and to free choice of employment without distinction as to race or skin color.' Article 1 of the 'Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention (ILO No. 111),' ratified by Korea, defines all exclusion or preference based on race and skin color that nullifies or impairs equality of opportunity or treatment in employment or occupation as discrimination.

The Human Rights Commission's Discrimination Correction Committee stated, "Considering that the complainant is from Sudan and has dark skin, and the text message sent by Manager D of the respondent company stating, 'The hotel laundry manager dislikes the attention focused on the laundry room because of Mr. B. We apologize,' it can be sufficiently recognized that the complainant's race and skin color were the reasons for the respondent's rejection of the complainant's employment." They judged, "This is an act of discrimination infringing on the right to equality by excluding or treating a specific person unfavorably in employment without reasonable grounds based on race or skin color."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.