Is the Second-Class Citizen Nation Coming... Ha Tae-kyung: "50% Hiring of Local University Graduates in Public Institutions? I Will Definitely Stop It"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] On the 30th, Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the People Power Party, publicly criticized Lee Nak-yeon, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, for stating that "the plan to expand the proportion of local university graduates hired by public institutions located in innovation cities from the current 30% to 50% is under consideration."

On the 1st, Representative Ha wrote on his Facebook, "Lee Nak-yeon, leader of the Democratic Party, suggests allocating 50% of public institution hires to local universities," and criticized, "This means institutionalizing unfair hiring instead of ability and competence."

He continued, "It is shocking that even the leader of the ruling party, who should prioritize the value of fairness, openly advocates discrimination in such a blatant manner," and pointed out, "If the 50% local university quota system is implemented, young people who studied hard in local areas and entered metropolitan universities will suffer serious reverse discrimination."

Furthermore, he said, "It completely goes against the current spirit of the times, which promotes blind recruitment without considering academic background for fair hiring," calling it "a second Incheon International Airport Corporation (In-gukgong) incident."

Representative Ha stated strongly, "Public institutions are dream jobs for young people. It is frustrating that they have not learned from the In-gukgong incident," adding, "The 50% quota system means turning all public institutions into In-gukgong. This is absolutely unacceptable. Young people who studied hard in local areas and entered metropolitan universities face serious reverse discrimination. I will definitely stop this."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, on the 30th, Lee Nak-yeon expressed his position at an on-site Supreme Council meeting held at Buan County Office in Jeonbuk, saying, "The goal is to hire 30% of graduates from local universities where public institutions are located in innovation cities by the end of the Moon Jae-in administration, and we are considering adding 20% more to hire graduates from other regional local universities."

He also hinted at the partial introduction of a local quota system for lower-level public officials. Lee added, "This will be implemented a few years later under the condition that it does not affect those currently preparing for the civil service exam."

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