On September 6, Daesung Energy, a Korean supplier of natural gas, made public apologies for the sudden cancellation of its college graduate recruitment plan in an attempt to appease an angry backlash from job applicants.
“Due to unexpected changes to our managerial environment, brought on by oil price plunges, we were unfortunately unable to take on new hires,” said Daesung Group Chairman Kim Young-hoon.
In July, Daesung Energy had a change of heart and abruptly canceled its open recruitment of college graduates. The cancelation came two months after the recruitment process began, thereby inviting strong criticism from job applicants.
In particular, word has been spreading fast of Daesung Energy lying about the cancellation and job interviewers’ mistreatment of applicants during the job interviews, consequently angering not only applicants but also other job seekers.
In a phone call between Daesung Energy and an applicant, who was waiting for the announcement of the final successful candidates, the company allegedly lied by saying: “We‘ve just scaled down our recruitment plan. Not everyone was eliminated.”
Another applicant said, “I had to have an unannounced job interview in English with the chairman. With his eyes closed, he even put his feet up on the desk during the interview. I felt like he was walking all over me.”
In response, Daesung Energy told a local newspaper: “The chairman was suffering from a knee problem, so he just put his feet up on another chair.”
Chairman Kim Young-hoon headed up the organizing committee for the World Energy Congress (WEC) Daegu 2013. As of now, he is serving as co-chair of the WEC, the world's largest and most influential energy event.
