National Human Rights Commission of Korea Annual Report 2019 D. Age Discrimination Discrimination based on age during a school interview On June 25, the Commission recommended the principal of a junior high school not to discriminate against older candidates by asking their age and other unrelated questions during job interviews. The Commission found that, during an interview to fill a teacher position, the petitionee asked What about you?” The question was about age or personal information related to age. Though Part 2 the petitioner who was 55 years old at the time, “Older teachers don’t like to offer open classes. it is difficult to conclude that the petitionee’s question influenced the interview outcome, the communicating or socializing.” Thus, it is an act of discrimination that must be redressed. The school accepted the recommendation and said that it would prohibit questions that may violate human rights procedures and regulations during all open hiring, and take measures to prevent a recurrence of similar incidents by training the staff on related laws and regulations, and manual. Employment discrimination based on age at a nursing home On November 19, the Commission recommended the director of a nursing home to ensure that no applicants are restricted from applying for a position due to age. The petitioner wanted to get a nursing assistant position at the nursing home. When she called to ask questions, the person in charge asked how old she was. Hearing that she was born in 1952, the hirer said that they wanted someone younger. Considering the characteristics of nursing assistant jobs, it is difficult to say that the position requires set age limits. Also, age is not a criterion for assessing computer skills or physical ability to move patients; rather, these abilities should be validated during interviews. Based on these considerations, the Commission concluded that there is no justifiable reason to place an age limit during the application phase, and so discouraging the petitioner from applying for the job by saying they would rather hire someone younger is an act of age discrimination in employment. 103 Key Activities question/comment itself revealed an age bias or prejudice that “older teachers have a hard time