Yang Bunam: "Preventing Preferential Hiring of Children of High-ranking Officials"

Yang Bunam Proposes Amendment to the National Election Commission Act
Bill Aims to Prevent Preferential Hiring of Senior Officials' Children
Measures Introduced for Transparency and Fairness in Recruitment

Yang Bunam, Member of the National Assembly.

A bill is being prepared to prevent preferential hiring of children of senior officials at the National Election Commission, an issue that was recently exposed by an audit from the Board of Audit and Inspection.

Yang Bunam, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea (representing Gwangju Seo-gu Eul), announced on the 18th that he has proposed a revision to the “National Election Commission Act.” The bill requires senior officials of the commission and their spouses’ family members or relatives to report if they are appointed as career civil servants.

According to the Board of Audit and Inspection’s report on “Personnel Management Practices at the National Election Commission,” there were multiple cases where children of high-ranking officials such as former Secretaries-General and Deputy Secretaries-General were appointed through competitive career recruitment. It was also revealed that these officials instructed or exerted influence to grant preferential treatment to their children.

Furthermore, it was found that the commission repeatedly submitted false or incomplete reports to the National Assembly in response to requests for information on relatives of commission employees, claiming that such information was not separately managed. This suggests an attempt to deceive the National Assembly, the representative body of the people, and to conceal the facts.

The proposed amendment includes measures to prevent nepotism by senior officials, enhance transparency and fairness in recruitment, and restore public trust.

Specifically, senior officials at level 4 or above at the commission must report to the Secretariat if their own or their spouse’s relatives within the fourth degree of kinship are appointed as career civil servants. The Secretariat is then required to disclose this information on the commission’s website. In addition, the Secretary-General of the commission must submit an annual report to the relevant standing committee of the National Assembly before the start of each regular session, detailing the status of hiring and promotion of relatives of current and former commission employees.

Yang emphasized, “The controversy over preferential hiring of children of senior officials at the commission is a serious issue that undermines the foundations of fairness and trust at the national level. I hope this amendment will help make recruitment results transparent and strengthen parliamentary oversight, thereby fundamentally blocking the possibility of preferential hiring.”

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