정치

Opposition parties call for investigation into alleged preferential treatment in recruitment process of Prosecutor General’s daughter

입력 2025.03.26 18:41

Lee Yoo-jin, Park Yong-ha, Jeong Hee-wan

Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung.

Opposition parties, including the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), raised suspicions on March 25 that the daughter of Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung received preferential treatment in the recruitment process at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and called for a thorough investigation by prosecutors.

Han Jeoung-ae, a lawmaker from the DPK, said the previous day that she suspected of preferential treatment in the recruitment of Shim’s daughter as a researcher at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs last year and this year, respectively. From March to November last year, Shim’s daughter worked as a temporary researcher at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy. According to the job announcement in January last year, candidates must have a master‘s degree or have worked in a related field for at least two years after earning a bachelor’s degree. “Shim’s daughter was scheduled to acquire a master's degree at the time of application, and her major was not related to the position."

In January last year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted a job announcement for civil service researchers. The ministry decided to select one person each for the policy research and military and defense sectors, and the requirement for the policy research sector was “a person who has a master's degree related to the economy and has more than two years of practical experience in the field."

In February last year, the ministry posted a job announcement for researchers in the policy research sector again and changed the requirement from “a person who has a master's degree related to the economy” to “a person who has a master's degree in international politics.” Shim’s daughter, who majored in international cooperation, applied for it and passed the document screening, written test, and interview.

정치 많이 본 기사

“Shim’s daughter did not meet the qualifications as she had only eight months of experience at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy,” said DPK lawmaker Han, adding, ”There is a suspicion that she received preferential treatment throughout the recruitment process.” Lee Hyun-taek, deputy spokesperson for the DPK said, “Prosecutors should immediately launch an investigation into Shim’s daughter.”

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lee Jae-woong said, "The recruitment process is being carried out transparently and fairly in accordance with the law." Prosecutor General Shim said, “My eldest daughter met all the qualifications including more than two years of experience in the related field as a research assistant at Seoul National University's Graduate School of International Studies and an intern at a U.N.-affiliated organization, and a perfect score on the TOEIC.”

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.