Untrained public-sector interviewers

[Anchor]

It has been confirmed that a significant number of interviewers in this year’s Grade 9 public official recruitment process did not receive prior training.

This contradicts the government’s policy of appointing only those who have completed mandatory training as interviewers.

The government explained that this does not constitute a violation of regulations, but since about 20% of those who passed the written exam failed the interview, it is expected to have repercussions.

Reporter Seo Ji-young has the exclusive report.

[Report]

After passing the national Grade 9 public official written exam, Mr. Kim, who participated in the interview in June, was asked during the interview, "What is your major?"

[Kim○○/Grade 9 public official applicant: "They were asking what major I studied that makes me so confident in that policy. It felt like I was being told I lacked qualifications..."]

The fair hiring operational standards stipulate that personal information of applicants should not be disclosed to interviewers.

If this was an intentional question, it could constitute a serious violation of those regulations.

Another applicant was asked to spontaneously create a 'three-line poem'.

This goes against the principle of structured interviews, which are designed to ensure consistent evaluation criteria for all candidates.

The Ministry of Personnel Management stated in 2015 that "only those who have completed interview training courses, both online and offline, will be appointed as interviewers."

However, according to the data obtained by KBS, 78% of interviewers from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, 66% from the Ministry of Science and ICT, and about 33% from the Ministry of Veterans Affairs had not completed the required training.

The Ministry of Personnel Management stated that they appointed personnel with job expertise and that there was no violation of regulations, but they also admitted that they ultimately had not verified whether training had been completed.

Applicants who failed the interview, which did not adhere to the policy set by the Ministry of Personnel Management, expressed feelings of loss.

[Kim○○/Grade 9 public official applicant: "I feel a sense of loss knowing that a process meant to ensure fair evaluation was carried out by unqualified interviewers."]

This year, 5,490 people passed the Grade 9 public official written exam. About 20% of them failed the interview stage, resulting in a final total of 4,318 successful candidates.

This is KBS News, Seo Ji-young.