An amendment to the Fair Hiring Procedure Act (“FHPA”) has become effective as of July 17, 2019.  The amendment to the FHPA, also referred to as the “Blind Hiring Act,” provides fair employment opportunities to job applicants by establishing grounds to regulate the hiring irregularities of private corporations, and also provides for recruitment based on job skills rather than based on appearances or gender.

Key components of the amendment to the FHPA include the following:
 

1.   Prohibition of coercion regarding hiring and prohibition of providing and/or receiving money and other valuables

• Prohibition of improper requests, pressure and/or coercion with respect to hiring, and prohibition of providing and/or receiving money, goods, entertainment or proprietary benefits regarding hiring in violation of the law (Article 4-2). 
• Violation of the foregoing may result in the imposition of an administrative fine not exceeding KRW 30 million against the individual.

2.   Prohibition of requesting personal information unrelated to job performance 

• Employers shall not request that an applicant list on basic application materials his/her personal information which is not related to job performance, including his/her height and weight, etc., hometown, or assets, or collect such information as evidentiary documents (Article 4-3). 
• Violation of the foregoing may result in the imposition of an administrative fine not exceeding KRW 5 million against the company.

On July 12, 2019, prior to the enforcement of the amendment to the FHPA, the Ministry of Employment and Labor prepared and distributed a “Legal Work Manual on the Fair Hiring Procedure Act.” 

The FHPA applies to the recruitment process of businesses or business places with 30 or more full-time employees (however, it does not apply to cases where the central or local governments hire public officials), and does not apply to businesses or business places with less than 30 full-time employees. 

It would be prudent for the applicable companies to comply with the above, review internal regulations which are relevant, and prepare training and guidelines for officers or employees who are involved in the recruitment process.