Hanwha Aerospace apologizes for hiring guidelines that restricted candidates by age, alma mater

CEO Lee Bu-hwan issues formal apology

Those responsible for distributing guidelines to face disciplinary action

Hanwha Aerospace has issued a formal apology over a controversy surrounding internal hiring guidelines that allegedly restricted experienced-hire candidates based on age and educational background. The company reaffirmed its commitment to open, non-discriminatory hiring and said it would discipline those responsible and take steps to prevent a recurrence.

Chief Executive Lee Bu-hwan posted an apology on the company's website Sunday, saying it was "absolutely unacceptable" that guidelines had been created that could limit applicants' opportunities based on personal factors — such as educational background and age — unrelated to job performance. "As a company that must fulfill its social responsibilities through fair hiring, this should never have happened," he said.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor launched an investigation on Sept. 16 into allegations that Hanwha Aerospace had drawn up guidelines for experienced-hire recruitment that restricted candidates by age and university attended and had distributed them to HR executives and hiring managers across its business divisions.

In his apology, Lee said the guidelines "directly undermined the core principles of open recruitment and equal opportunity that Hanwha Aerospace has long upheld," adding that the company was treating the matter "with the utmost seriousness."

Lee said the incident was "a clear mistake in which flawed guidelines were distributed to the field without proper internal review or verification," and pledged to "issue stern warnings and impose disciplinary measures on the relevant departments and individuals responsible for drafting and distributing the guidelines."

According to Hanwha Aerospace, Lee learned last month that an HR official had drawn up experienced-hire recruitment guidelines specifying particular universities and age ranges. Earlier this month, he issued formal warnings to those involved and sent a company-wide email to all HR staff and division and department heads, stating that inappropriate hiring practices would not be tolerated.

The company said it has referred those responsible for drafting the guidelines to its personnel committee and that disciplinary proceedings are underway.

Hanwha Aerospace said it would conduct a thorough review of its hiring processes and overhaul any areas found to be problematic. The company also plans to strengthen fair-hiring education for all employees to help establish a workplace culture free of discrimination.

"Fair hiring is the most fundamental form of justice and obligation a company owes to society," Lee said. "We will treat this as a painful lesson and ensure that such unreasonable discrimination never occurs again."

hss@heraldcorp.com