Govt. revises hiring regulations to promote merit-based 'blind' employment

The government will not demand photo or other personal information unrelated to work from applicants when hiring experienced employees starting late this month, as part of efforts to promote merit-based "blind" hiring, the Ministry of Personnel Management said Wednesday.

The ministry said it has revised regulations to introduce a standard application form to be used in hiring experienced employees throughout the government. Unlike previous forms, the new one doesn't demand a photo, school background information or personal information unrelated to carrying out the duties involved, officials said.

President Moon Jae-in has called for such a system in an effort to rule out hiring prejudice and discrimination in a society where critics say connections based on school and hometown can sometimes mean more than merit.

Since 2005, the government has used a standard application form that doesn't require school information when hiring inexperienced new employees. But when hiring experienced employees, government agencies have used application forms of their own that often demand such information.

The ministry said it will create guidelines for developing new job interview questions by October.

"Blind hiring is not hiring people without any information. It is a system to hire people based on job performance capabilities while ruling out such elements as school background, hometown and appearance," Minister Kim Pan-suk said. "It will serve as an opportunity to take a genuine look at the capabilities of applicants." (Yonhap)