Samsung’s Hiring Scheme Change Based on Quotas Scrapping after Controversy

Since Samsung announced the plan on January 15, it has stirred a controversy among college students and the general public alike who criticized the company for effectively ranking 200 colleges by allocating different quotas.(image: Wikipedia)

SEOUL, Korea, Jan 29 (Korea Bizwire) – Following the revelation that Samsung Group would hire college graduates by allowing university presidents to recommend top-performing students to the group, university presidents belonging to the Korea Council for University Education will respond to the decision of the nation’s biggest business conglomerate in a collective manner.

Suh Geo-seok, chairman of the Korea Council for University Education, said, “Our council takes this issue seriously and will discuss the matter in the upcoming board of directors meeting on February 5.”

Since Samsung announced the plan on January 15, it has stirred a controversy among college students and the general public alike who criticized the company for effectively ranking 200 colleges by allocating different quotas.

According to media reports, Sungkyunkwan University, owned by the company, received the biggest quota, with 115 allowed recommendations, followed by Seoul National and Hanyang Universities with 110, while women’s universities and other provincial universities were far down the list.

Sogang University, meanwhile, has not made public the quota it received from Samsung, but it was revealed its number was 40. To rumors that it did not disclose the allocated number in fears of losing face, a Sogang University official said, “We just honored the request by Samsung not to divulge it.” Other prestigious colleges such as KAIST and Postech have not yet received the official letters from the company.

On January 28, Samsung Group said that it would indefinitely put on hold a new hiring scheme as it faced a significant backlash from universities. In a statement made on the same day, the company offered an apology for “causing confusion to universities and job seekers” and explained that the change was aimed at fixing some of the problems arising from its current hiring scheme by reducing the dependence on its excessively competitive test, the Samsung Aptitude Test, and thereby saving time and effort in administering the test.