Busan launches sweeping overhaul at Technopark after hiring scandal

The Busan city government announced Thursday it will pursue a sweeping reform plan for Busan Technopark after a recent comprehensive audit uncovered improper hiring and promotion practices as well as lax employee attendance management at the institution.

The city plans to establish an innovation committee drawing on outside experts in accounting and finance, research equipment operations, management consulting and civic organizations. The committee will address the audit's findings and conduct a full review of Busan Technopark's organizational operations to develop a comprehensive management reform plan.

The city's industrial policy division, which has conducted annual guidance and inspection visits, will also expand into a joint inspection framework with the departments overseeing major projects. The expanded system will provide integrated oversight of project implementation, budget efficiency and compliance with reform tasks, with the aim of putting internal controls on a stable footing.

The city will also appoint an outside figure to fill the currently vacant post of audit office director at Busan Technopark, strengthening checks and oversight within the organization.

"This reform is not a simple follow-up to audit findings — it is a full-scale project to fundamentally transform the way Busan Technopark operates," said Park Dong-seok, director of Busan's advanced industries bureau.

Busan Technopark was caught in the city audit after it passed over higher-ranked candidates in favor of lower-ranked ones in both contract and full-time hiring processes.

The audit found that from 2022 through last year Busan Technopark repeatedly failed to hire candidates recommended by its personnel committee, or hired them in a different order than the committee had ranked them, in both contract and full-time recruitment.

Auditors also found that the institution's president had conducted additional performance evaluations to select final promotees in a different order than the personnel committee's confirmed rankings, overriding the committee's own determinations. Further violations included managing employees subject to the wage-peak system as supernumerary staff and continuing to employ them on contract beyond the mandatory retirement age, up to 62, in breach of personnel regulations.