Public agencies face crackdown on hiring irregularities

A team of officials will crack down on hiring irregularities at public agencies for three months, from Tuesday through the end of January.

The team will look into possible irregularities in hiring and human resources management at 338 public agencies funded by the central government, 847 local public agencies and 268 organizations related to public offices for five years.

They will scrutinize job-related soliciting, rigging of test scores or interview scores, unfair instructions or bribery related to promotion or recruitment, as well as preferential treatments in giving regular staff status to temporary workers.

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission shared some examples of the reports on irregularities they received.

A director of a county-funded public corporation raised the interview score of an associate of the governor so he could pass the test for an experienced staff position.

In another case, the president of a public corporation ordered his staff to change the requirements in order to hire his associate as an executive.

A university president requested an interviewer select an interviewee that his associate recommended and a senior university staff member hired an acquaintance who did not meet key requirements by changing the preferred qualifications and rigging scores.

Reports on hiring irregularities can be made through www.epeople.go.kr or the anti-corruption watchdog’s website at www.acrc.go.kr. People can get consultations on related matters by calling the government call center at 110, or 1398 for reports on corruption and public interest.

As it will take some time to complete the team’s organization, they will start with collecting internal investigation plans from the relevant ministries and local governments, and look into cases that have been reported.

If the facts show the reports are credible, the team will request from the Board of Audit and Inspection, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office and the National Police Agency for an audit or investigation, or send the case to the relevant ministry for inspection.

Once wrongdoing is verified, the team will request the relevant employer punish or reprimand those involved, cancel the hiring decision and allow victims of irregularities to retake tests.

The team also stressed that they will protect those who make reports and offer up to 200 million won ($178,000) in rewards to those whose reports serve the greater public interest.

“Hiring irregularities are difficult to detect as high-ranking officials are often involved, and they are committed through secretive connections between an agency and an organization under its supervision,” said Lim Yoon-joo, director of anti-corruption at the ACRC, asking for the public’s support.

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)