[Editorial] Anachronistic Demands for Personal Information

It has become apparent that conglomerates and a considerable number of their affiliates are demanding personal and family information unrelated to the work at hand when collecting resumes and job applications from potential employees. It is the same during interviews. Some companies are even demanding to know the Resident Registration Numbers of family members or the detailed reasons why people have had divorces. When it goes that far, it is time for there to be measures taken to protect personal information.

It has in fact long been common practice in our society for companies to request irrelevant information such as how many people are in a person's family, family members' education and employment status, aside from the essential information needed to hire someone. Educational institutions quite usually ask for hojeoks and family information. The practice is so deep-rooted that as a result most job seekers fill out all sorts of information about their families, and students and their parents let go of sensitive personal data. Those who provide the information have no idea how it is managed and used.

Recently there has been increasing interest among the people in the protection of personal information, and since the hojuje was abolished last March there has been a serious effort to find a new system of identity registration that recognizes diverse familial forms. As long as the wrongful practice continues at companies and major backbone areas of society legislation regarding the protection of personal information and of adopting a new system will not be very effective.

Companies need to break out of the habit of collecting various forms of personal information that is entirely unrelated to work ability. Unless companies stop doing so voluntarily, it might be worth considering the Democratic Labor Party (DLP) plan to stipulate in the Labor Standards Law that employers have a duty to protect workers' personal information. Schools must not continue to collect information on their students, even if done for the sake of student guidance.

The Hankyoreh, 25 May 2005.

[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]