South Korean election officials indicted for manipulating hiring scores

Two officials from the Gyeongnam Provincial Election Commission face charges for allegedly manipulating interview scores during a competitive recruitment process for experienced hires. The Changwon District Prosecutors' Office's Criminal Division 4 announced that two individuals, a department head in his 50s and a section chief in his 40s, were indicted without detention on charges including violation of the National Public Officials Act, obstruction of official duties by deceit, and forgery of public documents.

The alleged manipulation occurred between July and August 2021, during the 5th competitive recruitment exam for experienced hires at the Gyeongnam Provincial Election Commission. The officials are accused of arbitrarily selecting five successful candidates, disregarding the final interview scores from four interviewers. They allegedly altered the written scores of the selected candidates, creating a false document to confirm their selection.

At the time, the commission planned to hire five individuals for positions below Grade 8. Twenty-three local public officials applied, and 21 passed the document screening, proceeding to the interview stage, with five ultimately selected. However, when all five successful candidates were women, the two officials allegedly altered the interviewers' pencil marks. They reportedly lowered the scores of two female candidates to disqualify them and raised the scores of two male candidates to ensure their selection, citing a need to adjust the gender ratio.

The Board of Audit and Inspection uncovered these facts during its audit in the latter half of 2023 and notified the Election Commission in February of the following year. The Gyeongnam Provincial Election Commission disciplined the two officials in April. Separately, a civic group filed a complaint, prompting a police investigation. Following this incident, the Election Commission abolished the competitive recruitment exam for provincial public officials.

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This is a case where an electoral commission, a constitutional institution, has undermined the fairness of the personnel system. We will do our best to prosecute the two recruitment officials so they can receive a sentence commensurate with their crimes.