A street in southern Seoul is lined with buildings packed with cram schools. [Aju News DB]
Blind recruitment, the practice of removing personally identifiable information from the resumes of applicants such as education, physical conditions or birthplace, will be introduced soon in South Korea's public sector.
The new system, designed to ensure a fair opportunity for employment in government posts and public firms, will take effect probably by the end of this month on an order Thursday from South Korea's new liberal President Moon Jae-in at a meeting of presidential aides.
In their resumes, job applicants should not be asked to write down their academic background, physical condition or birthplace, Moon said, suggesting private firms should follow suit before the government legalizes the new system.
Moon called for "fair competition based on skills and abilities" to eradicate discrimination in recruitment which has been influenced by personal or school ties.
"By eliminating all elements that could be used to discriminate, those from a prestigious college or from lesser known schools ... will compete under the same conditions, from the same starting line with only their skills and abilities," Moon said.
Blind recruitment is gaining popularity in other countries as it is used to overcome unconscious bias and promote diversity in the workforce, but many South Korean firms are still reluctant to introduce it due to the deep-rooted social practice of setting a high value on academic background.
A place in one of South Korea’s elite universities is seen as the key in a hyper-competitive society to everything from future careers to marriage prospects.
Overzealous parents yearning to see their children succeed at all costs ensure exorbitant spending on private education sometimes at the expense of their health and happiness.
Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
