Foreign Ministry Cancels Selection of Former Prosecutor General's Daughter for Recruitment, Re-evaluates All Applicants

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has notified Sim, the daughter of former Prosecutor General Sim Woo-jung, that her selection as a candidate for recruitment has been canceled, SBS has learned. The notification was sent on May 29.

The Ministry previously concluded through an internal audit that Sim was an applicant who should not have passed the document screening stage, as she did not meet the requirements specified in the job posting.

Furthermore, the Ministry determined that three of its employees had handled the recruitment process improperly and should be held accountable for their negligence, leading the Ministry to request disciplinary action from the Central Disciplinary Committee.

● 'Candidate for Recruitment' Status Revoked After Over a Year

Sim had applied for a position as a public service researcher at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Diplomatic Information Division 1 in February of last year. She passed the document, written, and interview screenings, and was awaiting actual employment as a selected candidate.

However, her hiring was put on hold after allegations regarding her lack of qualifications were raised at the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee in March of last year.

At the time, Representative Han Jeoung-ae of the Democratic Party of Korea pointed out Sim's relevant experience, stating, "Her only practical experience is an eight-month stint at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy," and added, "It is not even practical experience in the relevant field."

Although she did not actually work for the Ministry, Sim's status as a "candidate for recruitment" was maintained for over a year.

Ultimately, following an internal audit and review, the Ministry notified her of the cancellation of her selection on May 29.

Multiple Ministry officials told SBS, "We determined that Sim did not meet the eligibility requirements and notified her of the cancellation."

The Ministry sent the notification via email after being unable to reach her by phone, and it is reported that Sim's side did not provide any particular response.

● "Requirement of '2 Years of Experience After Master's Degree' Clearly Stated... Should Not Have Passed Document Screening"

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs considers the "job posting" to be the primary principle for determining eligibility and evaluation criteria.

The job posting at the time required "a master's degree in international politics and at least two years of practical experience in the relevant field."

The internal document screening scorecard specified the criteria even more precisely as "two years of practical experience after obtaining a master's degree."

However, it is reported that the officials in charge at the time recognized activities such as teaching assistant or research assistant work performed by Sim before she obtained her master's degree as practical experience.

While the officials explained that they had judged that experience gained before obtaining a master's degree could be included as practical experience, the Ministry reportedly deemed this an act of negligence.

● Qualification Controversies Repeated from Previous Hiring at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy

Sim had previously been selected as a fixed-term researcher at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in 2024 and worked there for about eight months.

The job posting at that time designated applicants as those holding a master's degree in a relevant field or those who had worked for a certain period after obtaining a bachelor's degree.

A government official stated that it was determined that Sim did not meet the qualification requirements in that instance as well.

Although there was a procedural issue involving the receipt of additional career verification documents after the application period had closed, the official explained that the fundamental problem was that Sim did not meet the eligibility requirements from the start.

Meanwhile, the fact that the major requirement was changed from "economics-related master's" in the initial posting to "master's in international politics" in the re-posting also caused controversy. While the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) viewed this as a problem in the recruitment process, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reportedly judged it to be within the discretion of the department in charge, given the low number of applicants.

● CIO Investigation Prevented Board of Audit and Inspection Audit; Ministry Conducts Internal Audit

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs requested a public interest audit from the Board of Audit and Inspection in April of last year, but the audit could not be initiated for a long time due to regulations because an investigation by the CIO was underway.

As Sim's status as a "candidate for recruitment" continued to be maintained, the Ministry reportedly decided it could no longer delay a conclusion and launched an internal audit at the end of last year.

Through this, the Ministry confirmed issues with eligibility and procedures, requested the recruitment department to cancel the selection, and the department notified Sim after following administrative procedures.

● Recruitment Process Resumes; All Previous Applicants Re-evaluated from Document Screening

After canceling Sim's selection, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately hire the existing reserve candidates.

This was because the flaws in the initial recruitment process occurred as early as the document screening stage.

Therefore, instead of a new recruitment drive, the Ministry re-evaluated the documents of all applicants who had applied for the position last year.

Following a re-evaluation by external judges, five candidates were newly selected for the document stage, and the Ministry is currently conducting subsequent processes such as written tests and interviews for them.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was unable to confirm any intent on the part of the recruitment officials at the time.

However, it deemed that passing an unqualified applicant despite clear criteria constituted negligence and requested disciplinary action for three employees from the Central Disciplinary Committee.

The Central Disciplinary Committee's deliberation is expected to be held as early as the end of this month or early next month.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.