InterviewMan behind push to abolish ‘academic caste system’

Song In-soo / Courtesy of Education Spring

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 discrimination based on which school you went to.”

The bill would revise the Fair Hiring Procedure Act so employers cannot ask for information such as alma mater, education level or religion at the initial screening stage, and cannot use personal details that are not necessary for performing the job as criteria.

The bill, proposed by Rep. Kang Deuk-gu and nine other lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, has been gaining traction, with backing from National Education Commission head Cha Jeong-in and a new advisory group launched last month.

Polls suggest Korea’s obsession with education and universities in particular is rooted in the belief that one's academic background is a decisive factor in social, financial and other forms of success. In a 2024 KBS poll, “discrimination based on educational background and school prestige” was cited as the most serious form of discrimination in Korean society, chosen by 28 percent of respondents, ahead of discrimination against the disabled and gender discrimination, both at 13 percent.

Song believes many of Korea’s social ills — from its high teenage suicide rate and exorbitant private education costs to demographic troubles — are directly tied to efforts to avoid that perceived discrimination.

Opponents of the measure — among them employers and alumni of top universities — argue that it would amount to government overreach in private hiring decisions and diminish the weight of degrees earned through years of effort. Removing school names from applications, they say, is unlikely to produce more equitable outcomes and may simply shift bias to other, harder-to-detect indicators.

They also note that comparable laws are rare abroad, suggesting the proposal would be an outlier globally. Song, however, maintains that Korea’s singularly intense focus on academic background justifies a policy tailored to its own labor market realities.

“For example, in the U.S. or Europe, they have laws against discrimination based on race or sexual orientation, because those are the most serious problems there,” he said. “In Korea, the most serious problem is academic hierarchy. So it is natural that we have the law when other countries don’t. Another example is the law that bans educators from teaching or testing content beyond the official curriculum — the so-called ‘preemptive teaching ban’ law, which no other countries have.”

Song said the bill’s prospects in parliament are “higher than ever,” noting that it amounts to a major youth policy because “around 90 percent” of young job-seekers do not have elite academic credentials to flaunt. In his view, these applicants have long found their abilities overlooked at the first document screening stage, and many welcome any change that would force firms to evaluate what they can actually do over where they studied. He added the reform would also benefit employers by helping prevent poor hiring decisions.

“In the end, this is a policy that would benefit almost everyone — businesses, society, job-seekers and young people,” he said. “If we can shake off old habits together, I’m convinced it will turn into a change that works in everyone’s favor.”