아모레퍼시픽이 신입사원 채용 면접에서 논란이 되는 ‘국정교과서’에 대한 의견을 물은 질문 때문에 도마에 올랐다.
최근 인터넷에 “아모레퍼시픽 영업관리직무 정규직전환형 인턴 최종면접에서 떨어졌다. 면접과정에서 납득할 수 없는 (국정 교과서 관련) 질문을 받았고, 그게 탈락의 주된 원인이 되는지, 아니면 역량이 부족해서인지 아모레퍼시픽으로부터 공식적인 답변을 듣고싶다”는 글이 확산돼 논란이 됐다.
아모레퍼시픽 측은 “지원자를 평가하기 위함이었을 뿐 그 외 다른 어떤 의도도 없었다”는 입장이다.
논란이 커지자 배동현 아모레퍼시픽 경영지원부문 부사장은 2일 “최근 신입사원 공채에 응모한 지원자가 면접 과정 중 특정 질문에 대해 이의를 제기했다”면서 “해당 질문은 지원자의 사회에 대한 관심과 답변 스킬, 결론 도출의 논리성 등을 평가하기 위함이었으며, 지원자의 성향은 합격 여부에 절대 영향을 주지 않았다”고 설명했다.
앞서 사건의 발단이 됐던 게시물을 작성한 면접자는 국정 교과서에 대해 어떻게 생각하느냐는 질문에 대해 “바람직한 결정이라고 할 수 없다고 얘기했으나 면접관은 ‘국정교과서 찬성이에요, 반대예요?’라고 다그치듯 물었다”고 밝혔다.
그는 또 ”1차 면접부터 언변이 우수하다는 호평을 받았지만, 결국 떨어졌다. 아모레퍼시픽에 탈락사유를 묻고싶다“면서 ”영업관리 직무를 수행하는데 국정교과서에 대한 제 견해가 무슨 의미가 있는 것이냐 “고 반문했다.
이와 관련해 배 부사장은 ”회사의 채용은 공정성과 투명성을 확보하려고 개인의 정치 성향이나 종교, 학연, 지연 등 적절치 않은 차별을 가져오는 사항들은 묻거나 평가에 반영하지 못하도록 규제하고 있다“면에서 ”서류전형부터 임원면접까지 여러 단계에 걸쳐 면접관 다수가 참여하기 때문에 특정 면접관의 특정 질문 하나에 의해서 지원자의 합격 여부가 결정될 수 없는 구조 “라고 해명했다.
(코리아헤럴드 석지현 기자 monicasuk@heraldcorp.com)
<관련 영문 기사>
AmorePacific in controversy over ‘inappropriate job interview question’
South Korean cosmetics giant AmorePacific Group has been embroiled in a controversy over political questions asked during job interviews.
An anonymous interviewee, who recently failed the final interview for the firm’s internship with guaranteed employment, wrote online that he was asked to talk about his opinion on the government’s attempts to reintroduce state-authored history textbooks.
The history textbook issue has become a particularly sensitive one in Korea with the progressives and conservatives taking highly contrasting positions.
“I would like to hear directly from AmorePacific whether my answer to the question affected the interview result or whether I simply did not meet the firm’s qualifications,” he wrote on his Facebook account on Sunday.
As his accusations went viral online, AmorePacfic vice president Bae Dong-hyun released a public statement on the firm’s website that “the question was aimed at evaluating interviewees’ interest in social affairs and logic.”
“Our recruitment system eliminates questions concerned to religion, school ties and regionalism in order to maintain fairness and transparency,” he wrote.
“Multiple interviewers take part in the interview process, and thus a single question from one particular interviewer cannot affect the result,” Bae added.
The writer of the Facebook post in question also wrote that the interviewer pushed him for a yes or no answer when he said “(reinstating state-authored history textbooks) was an undesirable decision.”
The writer also said he had received favorable comments for being an “eloquent speaker,” and that he would like to ask what his answer to the question meant regarding the job he applied for.
By Suk Gee-hyun (monicasuk@heraldcorp.com)
AmorePacific in controversy over ‘inappropriate job interview question’
South Korean cosmetics giant AmorePacific Group has been embroiled in a controversy over political questions asked during job interviews.
An anonymous interviewee, who recently failed the final interview for the firm’s internship with guaranteed employment, wrote online that he was asked to talk about his opinion on the government’s attempts to reintroduce state-authored history textbooks.
The history textbook issue has become a particularly sensitive one in Korea with the progressives and conservatives taking highly contrasting positions.
“I would like to hear directly from AmorePacific whether my answer to the question affected the interview result or whether I simply did not meet the firm’s qualifications,” he wrote on his Facebook account on Sunday.
As his accusations went viral online, AmorePacfic vice president Bae Dong-hyun released a public statement on the firm’s website that “the question was aimed at evaluating interviewees’ interest in social affairs and logic.”
“Our recruitment system eliminates questions concerned to religion, school ties and regionalism in order to maintain fairness and transparency,” he wrote.
“Multiple interviewers take part in the interview process, and thus a single question from one particular interviewer cannot affect the result,” Bae added.
The writer of the Facebook post in question also wrote that the interviewer pushed him for a yes or no answer when he said “(reinstating state-authored history textbooks) was an undesirable decision.”
The writer also said he had received favorable comments for being an “eloquent speaker,” and that he would like to ask what his answer to the question meant regarding the job he applied for.
By Suk Gee-hyun (monicasuk@heraldcorp.com)
