Despite 'Blind' Recruitment, Academic Background Still Dominates Hiring... School Background Discrimination Must End

Changing Hiring Culture Is Key to Solving Education Issues
On the 14th, Over 100 Civic Groups
Launch the One Million People’s Campaign for the Law to Prevent School Background Discrimination in Hiring
Hopes Rise for the Passage of the “Law

#In November 2023, North Chungcheong Province recruited administrative interns, limiting eligibility to "university students" whose registered address was in the province. Young people who were not university students were not even allowed to apply.

#In the financial sector, there have even been cases of circumventing the rules to favor graduates from certain universities. In 2016, Bank A manipulated interview scores for new employee recruitment to select candidates from Seoul National University, Yonsei University, Korea University, and the University of Wisconsin, while rejecting applicants from other universities.

There are growing calls to change the hiring culture that prioritizes educational background in order to solve South Korea's education issues, such as excessive early education symbolized by the "7-year-old exam," the collapse of public education, declining teacher authority, increasing youth suicide rates, and the rise in ADHD cases. The reason is that, as seen in the above cases, chronic education problems persist because government agencies and companies consider academic pedigree more important than individual abilities when hiring.

Job seekers visiting the Gangnam-gu Job Fair held at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul on the 5th are checking the job posting board. 2025.06.05 Photo by Yoon Dongju

Source=Office of Former Assemblywoman Shim Sangjung, Society for Worry-Free Private Education

Believing that changing the hiring culture is key to solving South Korea's education problems, 102 civic groups launched the "One Million Citizens Movement for the Enactment of the School Background Hiring Discrimination Prevention Act" on the 14th. They argue that a hiring culture centered on academic pedigree ultimately fuels private education and pushes students into the trap of repeatedly retaking college entrance exams.

The Framework Act on Employment Policy (Article 7, Paragraph 1) stipulates that when recruiting or hiring workers, discrimination based on gender, religion, age, academic background, or alma mater is prohibited without reasonable cause. However, because there are no specific penalty provisions, the law has remained largely declarative, with limited effectiveness in correcting entrenched practices.

These groups stated that a strong law is needed to eradicate hiring discrimination, and announced that they would take the lead in passing the "School Background Hiring Discrimination Prevention Act" through the One Million Citizens Movement.

The School Background Hiring Discrimination Prevention Act was sponsored last month on the 10th by Kang Deukgu, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea. Assemblyman Kang proposed an amendment to the "Act on Fairness in Hiring Procedures" to exclude "academic background and alma mater" from the list of personal information required in the hiring process, as well as a bill to establish a responsible body to promote employment and job security for high school graduates. The intent is to create an environment where stable employment is possible without a university degree, thereby breaking down academic elitism.

At a press conference held at the National Assembly Communication Center, these groups stated, "Article 4, Paragraph 3 of the Act on Fairness in Hiring Procedures prohibits including discriminatory factors such as appearance, height, weight, place of origin, marital status, and property in resumes and other application documents. This should be amended to also prohibit the inclusion of 'alma mater and academic background.'"