Simmering hiring scandal

Authorities should get to the bottom of KT case

Telecom giant KT faces illegal recruitment allegations following the arrest of a human resources executive suspected of unfairly hiring a daughter of Rep. Kim Sungtae, former floor leader of the largest opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP).

The arrest of the executive prompted the KT union to urge the prosecution, Monday, to expand its investigation into other suspected "preferential" recruitment cases besides that of Rep. Kim's daughter.

The union alleged that as many as 35 out of 300 workers recruited in an open competition in 2009 were chosen thanks to their connections to high-profile figures. The board of directors sided with the union, calling for an immediate investigation into the allegations.

The hiring scandal comes at a time when many young people are struggling to find jobs amid the tightening job market. According to Statistics Korea, the unemployment rate for those aged between 15 and 29 hit a record high of 24.4 percent in February.

Any unfair recruitment at such a coveted company as KT cannot be connived at. KT, the country's second-largest mobile carrier, should conduct an internal investigation to shed light on the illicit hiring allegations. Law enforcement authorities must go all-out to dig into the case in a bid to crack down on recruitment scams that have already hit state-run companies and banks.

Hiring fraud of any kind is a grave crime that crushes the hopes and dreams of young people who have been preparing for years to land jobs. Doing a favor for children of politicians, lawmakers and bureaucrats is tantamount to stealing jobs from better-qualified jobseekers.

The KT case appears to have something to do with the unfair practice of the government "parachuting" people with connections to political power into state enterprises, banks and some private firms as executives and auditors. This bad practice has shown no signs of abating although KT was privatized 17 years ago.

These parachuted executives tend to curry favor with political bigwigs in the government, the National Assembly and other authoritative entities. They are not in a position to reject undue requests from those in power, including the hiring of their children. In this sense, the government is also responsible for this shameful practice.

The Assembly is to hold a hearing about the KT hiring scandal April 4. Lawmakers should seize the rare opportunity to get to the bottom of the case involving Rep. Kim's daughter. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea and the opposition LKP must go beyond their partisan feud over the case to root out all types of hiring irregularities.