Man behind push to abolish ‘academic caste system’
An education reform advocate says a proposed “ban on school‑background discrimination in hiring” bill, which would bar employers from asking job-seekers about their alma mater, is a first step toward dismantling what he describes as Korea’s “academic caste system.” Song In-soo, co-head of Education Spring, a civic group driving the campaign for the bill, said he wants to fix what he sees as a hiring culture that treats school names as a kind of social rank, rather than a measure of ability. “In Korea we treat school names almost like a social caste. One child’s admission to a top university can make neighbors feel as if their own children’s status has been downgraded,” he told The Korea Times. “If we keep throwing our children into this credentialist society, this never‑ending competition, there is no hope.” Song added that the bill is not a blanket ban on considering educational backgrounds in hiring, but a targeted curb on the use of school names in recruitment. “This is not about banning education from hiring decisions,” he said. “It is about banning d
