Home | Databases | WorldLII | Search | Feedback National Human Rights Commission of Korea - Complaint Summaries

Age Discrimination [2006] KRNHRC 1 (1 January 2006)

Discrimination on the basis of age refers to any act of favorable treatment, exclusion,
differentiation or unfavorable treatment of a particular person or group without any
reasonable cause in many areas of social life, including employment, on the basis of
age. Here "age" not only refers to specific age levels such as "under 32," "between 24
and 35," and "in their 20s," but also relative age indicators such as "minors" and "the
elderly" and phrases referencing generalized views on age, such as, "those who are
expected to graduate from university this year" and "unmarried women."

Restriction of Applicants' Age in Recruitment of Government Officials
As the number of complaints contending that government ministries and state enterprises
discriminate based on age and educational history in recruitment increased, the
Commission carried out suo-moto investigations into 24 government bodies, including
the Civil Service Commission, on age restrictions in the recruitment of civil servants.

The Civil Service Commission, the body responsible for matters concerning the age
of applicants for civil service positions, restricted the age of applicants in competitive
recruitment examinations for Grade 9 posts from 18 to 28 years, between 20 and 35
years for Grade 6 and Grade 7, and between 20 and 32 for Grade 5 posts. These
restrictions were found to be in pursuant to Article 16 and Appendix 4 of the Public
Official Appointment Regulations. Concerning the age restrictions, the Civil Service
Commission cited reasons for the limit on age, namely to strengthen the government's
competitiveness in hiring and efficiency, and to improve the quality of administrative
service by recruiting young and competent talented individuals to public service.

The Civil Service Commission also contended that if age restrictions are abolished
or eased, there would be a general ageing of the entire civil service sector, as repeat
applications would be expected to accrue until saturating the qualified applicant pool.
Upon review of the competitive recruitment examination for Grade 9 as first round
review on age restrictions in recruitment of civil officials, the Commission considered
that the Civil Service Commission's ceiling of age 28 for Grade 9 did not meet several
vocational requirements, including correlation between age and fundamental duties,
training costs and time, reasonable time until retirement, experience of vocational
training and excessive burden in providing conveniences.

The Commission also found that the difficulty of the current examinations
combined with the difficulty to prepare for the exams makes it unreasonable to
conclude that the applicant pool would necessarily age, even after the abolition or
easing of age restrictions. Additionally, improving efficiency and proactivity of civil
service organizations should be accessed through organizational management, such as
innovation and reform, rather than through restricting physical age. Concerning the
adverse effects of the prolonged preparation period, the Commission considered that
the issue should be addressed through the creation of various employment
opportunities, the elimination of age discrimination in general in society, and job
stability for the elderly.

The Commission concluded that setting limits on the age of applicants for Grade 9
post recruitment examination amounts to age discrimination, that is neither reasonable
nor justifiable. The Commission recommended that the Chairman of the Civil Service
Commission improve related regulations.