Civic Group Urges Gwangju Office of Education to Take Responsibility for Auditor Recruitment Corruption

Violation of Blind Recruitment Principles and Changes in Interview Panel Composition
Citizens’ Coalition for a Society Without School Ties: "Fairness Undermined, Measures Needed to Prevent Recurrence"

Amid ongoing allegations that the Gwangju Office of Education hired a high school classmate and altered interview rankings during the open recruitment process for an auditor in 2022, a civic group has called for responsible action and reforms in personnel administration.

The Citizens’ Coalition for a Society Without School Ties issued a statement on the 19th, saying, "The Gwangju Office of Education must engage in genuine reflection regarding the corruption in the auditor recruitment process and restore transparent personnel administration." The group explained that it has continued to attend court hearings as a joint complainant in the case.

Gwangju Office of Education

According to the group, at the time, the head of the education office’s personnel team asked interview panel members to revise their evaluation forms, and some panel members complied, thereby compromising the fairness of the recruitment process. The group also claimed that the interview materials included academic background information, which violated the principles of blind recruitment, and that there were changes in the composition of the interview panel, contrary to the original plan. The final successful candidate is known to be a high school classmate of Superintendent Lee Jungseon.

The group criticized, "Although the education office belatedly introduced a new recruitment plan for the auditor centered on external panel members, this cannot be regarded as a sincere reflection." They further stated, "Superintendent Lee is evading responsibility by filing an objection to the investigation, among other actions." The group added, "We will continue to monitor the upcoming trial process, work to uncover any additional suspicions, and pursue the truth in solidarity with related organizations."

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