(The Fair News Report, January 27, 2026) A Post for a Close Associate of National Pension Service Chairman Kim Sung-joo?... Controversy over the Hiring of a Policy Planning Team Leader

Allegations of irregular hiring have surfaced at the National Pension Service. Although the hiring has not been completed, the claim is that the recruitment process was tailor-made to select a particular person.

A National Pension Service notice checked on the 27th shows that the Service is recruiting a Policy Planning Team Leader as a fixed-term worker. Applications closed on the 26th.

The problem lies in the qualifications and working conditions in the job posting. As its experience requirement, it set at least three years of work experience in strategic planning, welfare, policy development, cooperation and support, or management innovation.

Regarding this notice, a social media user presumed to be a National Pension Service employee claimed that the recruitment was being conducted on orders to hire an associate of Kim Sung-joo, Chairman of the National Pension Service, and that it was intended to hire a former aide of Chairman Kim. The user added that the hiring was irregular and called for an audit.

The Policy Planning Team Leader in the notice is a department-head-level post, with duties covering the pursuit of the Service's major policy tasks, policy support for the CEO and external cooperation, and innovation in the scheme, services, and institutional operation. Pay was set at around 7 million won a month, including meal allowances, bonuses, and various other allowances. Performance bonuses and welfare points are separate.

These working conditions have also drawn murmurs. The question is whether it is normal to hire someone with three years of experience at department-head level, with pay of around 84 million won a year.

Under the Service's operating rules for fixed-term workers, a monthly salary of 7 million won for a fixed-term worker corresponds to Professional Grade A.

Professional Grade A covers people with about 5 to 10 years of IT experience; holders of qualifications at the level of certified labor attorney or judicial scrivener; people with professional experience such as translation; and holders of intermediate technical skills in fields such as IT and architecture, with a monthly salary set between 4 million and 7 million won.

Professional Grade B, which covers holders of qualifications at the level of doctor, lawyer, accountant or tax accountant and holders of advanced technical skills in fields such as IT and architecture, can be set between 5 million and 8 million won a month.

However, when a professional is appointed to a position at team leader level or above, additional pay suited to the post may be paid, and the amount can be set separately by the chairman.

In a posting last September for professional contract positions such as lawyers and certified public accountants, the Service set annual salaries of 66 million to 84 million won for lawyers and accountants, determined within that range according to experience. The newly advertised Policy Planning Team Leader would receive the same monthly pay as the top of the range for lawyers or accountants.

In 2024, when hiring visiting research fellows, the Service set the eligibility as assistant professor or above at a Korean or foreign university, a doctoral degree, at least 15 years of practical experience in a related field, or qualifications recognized as equivalent.

The pay set for a research fellow with at least 15 years of practical experience was 4.5 million won a month.

Compared with the working conditions in its earlier job postings, there is room to view the working conditions for the newly hired Policy Planning Team Leader as unusual.

An official at the National Pension Service said, "We did hear about the allegations of irregular hiring," but added, "There can be no irregularity in hiring, and as far as we know the hiring is proceeding through a fair process."

https://www.thefairnews.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=67969