Moon vows 'blind screening' for public job applicants

By Yi Whan-woo

President Moon Jae-in pledged Thursday to introduce a “blind screening” system for all job applicants in the public sector to prevent any discrimination in hiring.

Under the system, applicants will not have to give information on the names of schools they attended, their academic degrees, birthplace, height and weight as well as other possible elements of discrimination.

Moon instructed the government to adopt the new recruitment system in the second half of the year, saying he hopes private firms will also introduce similar measures.

Cheong Wa Dae said follow-up measures will be announced this month.

“I want blind-screening hiring to start in the second half when recruiting civil servants and employees for public organizations,” Moon said during a meeting with his senior secretaries. “I hope it can be implemented in the private sector solely based on the government’s decision.”

Moon’s order falls in line with a campaign pledge to fight job discrimination based on academic background as well physical appearance amid a high youth unemployment rate.

“Elements of discrimination on job applications should be banned completely except for certain jobs that require a certain level of education or physical performance,” Moon said. “Jobseekers should be able to compete fairly and equally whether they graduated from top schools or not, and also whether they went to schools in Seoul or outside Seoul.”

Recruit locals in provinces

Regarding public organizations that have moved their headquarters outside the capital, Moon said he wants them to hire at least 30 percent of new recruits from the local community.

However, he said the percentage of such recruitment may vary among public organizations.

“They should meet a certain quota, say 30 percent, in recruiting employees from their neighborhoods. By doing so, they can help the government support innovation in provincial regions and bolster regional economies.”

The President said the government cannot force private enterprises to practice blind-screening in hiring employees.

But he still said he hoped they would follow the government’s lead, adding, “Studies show conglomerates that have adopted a blind-screening system tend to hire more talented jobseekers than those that have not.”

In the country’s job market, it has been considered the norm to ask applicants their age, gender, height, weight, marital status and other private information.

Some employers have also asked about the wealth of applicants’ parents and also their occupations.