– ACRC announced results from an inspection of 931 public service-related organizations

– 34 hiring corruption cases detected; implicated persons referred for investigation and disciplinary action requested

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC, Chairperson Ryu Chul Whan) announced the results of a comprehensive inspection of hiring practices, conducted from February to October this year with central ministries including the Ministry of Economy and Finance, local governments, and offices of education, covering 931 public service-related organizations.

Of a total 1,423 organizations, 492 were excluded from this year’s inspection because they had no hiring in the previous year or had no hiring corruption in the past three years.

The inspection examined whether new hires conducted by public service-related organizations in 2024 were carried out appropriately in accordance with relevant laws and guidelines, through parallel investigations by each organization’s supervisory body and the ACRC.

The inspection revealed 832 cases of violations of fair-hiring regulations across 458 organizations, of which 34 constituted hiring corruption subject to referral for investigation or disciplinary action. This is an 81.3% decrease from 2019, when there were 182 hiring-corruption cases, showing a steady yearly decline.

In the 34 hiring-irregularity cases uncovered in this inspection, the most common types were in following order: arbitrary selection of successful candidates (8 cases), arbitrary conduct of screening (8 cases), and inadequate verification of eligibility and disqualifying factors (5 cases)

※ Examples of the most frequently detected hiring irregularities:

① Arbitrary selection of successful candidates: Upon the establishment and announcement of the hiring plan, it was decided that successful candidates would be selected in order of highest total interview scores, however, during the actual interview process, the criteria for selecting successful candidates were arbitrarily changed, and candidates were selected in a manner that did not even meet the arbitrarily changed criteria.”

② Arbitrary conduct of screening: Despite knowing that the internal applicant did not meet the hiring qualification standards under the personnel regulations, the applicant was arbitrarily selected.

③ Inadequate verification of eligibility/disqualifications: the decision to hire the prospective employee was made without conducting the required background check for disqualifying factors.

Among the detected cases, one particularly egregious violation-illegal interference in hiring that severely undermined fairness-was referred for criminal investigation. The remaining 33 cases, which involved serious negligence that could affect candidate rankings, will be subject to disciplinary action.

< Case Referred for Investigation >

Additionally, 798 instances of negligence subject to “cautions or warnings” in the hiring process were identified.

The ACRC will continuously monitor implementation to ensure proper dispositions for 45 individuals involved in the 34 hiring-corruption cases and remedial measures for the 12 victims.

Lee Myung-soon, ACRC Vice Chairperson, said, “Thanks to consistent, sustained government efforts to eradicate hiring corruption in the public sector and foster a culture of fair hiring, it’s encouraging that such corruption is decreasing. However, we cannot yet claim that the public fully feels these results.”

He added, “Going forward, the ACRC will continue to lay the groundwork to ensure that future generations, who will carry our society forward, can receive fair evaluations in the hiring process, which is the first gateway to perform economic activity.”