Sungkyunkwan University Rejects Human Rights Commission's Recommendation on Employment Criteria

Sungkyunkwan University (숭실대학교) has faced criticism from the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (인권위) for its policy of restricting employment eligibility to Christians. Despite the commission's recommendation to amend this policy, the university has chosen to reject the suggestion, a stance it previously took seven years ago as well.

On March 12, the Human Rights Commission announced that it received a response from Sungkyunkwan University indicating its refusal to revise its bylaws and personnel regulations that limit staff eligibility to Christian applicants. This decision follows a complaint lodged with the commission regarding the university's 2025 recruitment announcement, which stated that non-Christians would not be allowed to apply.

In November of last year, the commission urged the university to revise its hiring criteria. However, Sungkyunkwan University defended its position by stating that the foundation's purpose is to cultivate capable leaders who can serve the nation, society, and the church based on Christian faith and the educational ideals of South Korea. Therefore, the university believes it is necessary to restrict all staff positions to Christians.

The university further emphasized the importance of institutional autonomy, asserting that the foundation's independent decision-making authority regarding staff recruitment must be respected. The Human Rights Commission had previously made similar recommendations to Sungkyunkwan University in 2018, which were also rejected.

The commission has been advocating for the correction of practices where religiously affiliated universities limit administrative staff recruitment to members of their respective faiths, with some institutions complying with these recommendations.