Photo studio owners protest resume photo ban in public sector

The government's move to ban identification photos on all public sector resumes is facing angry backlash from local photo studio owners worried about a dive in sales.

Members of an association of private photo studio owners held a rally Thursday in front of the office of President Moon Jae-in's power transition team in downtown Seoul, insisting that the ongoing push for the resume photo ban in the public sector will threaten the livelihoods of about 300,000 photo studios nationwide.

The protest rally came after Moon recently ordered government agencies and public corporations to implement the so-called "blind" recruitment system to root out any discrimination in hiring. Under the blind system, all job applicants will not be asked to provide their identification photos as well as personal information to public sector employers.

At the rally, photo studio owners demanded that the proposed resume photo ban be scrapped, saying the 'no-photo' policy contradicts the new president's repeated promises to revitalize small-time merchants and will deal a severe blow to the sales of photo studios.

"The spread of digital and smartphone cameras has already annihilated eight out of 10 photo studios at home. The surviving studios have barely lived on sales from passport and resume photos," said a participant in the rally.

"The resume photo ban, if implemented, will surely deal a fatal blow to the studios. Photos are still needed in curriculum vitae in order to ensure hiring transparency and prevent various examination cheating scams," he said.

The photo studio owners vowed to continue to hold protest rallies in Seoul until their demand is met. (Yonhap)