Job Posting Salary Discrepancy Sparks Fraud Allegations: 35M vs 25M Won Offers

Allegations have been raised that job seekers were deceived, with salaries advertised as '35 million KRW starting for new hires' on job sites being offered at 25 million KRW during interviews. The content, stating the writer was told 'we listed it higher to attract more applicants' when inquiring about the salary difference at the interview, has been shared on social media, leading to voices claiming actual damages. The issue of discrepancies between job postings and actual offered salaries is pointed out as a problem beyond a mere 'unpleasant experience,' as it can distort job seekers' options. Similar issues have also been raised in online communities and consultation cases with the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

It is difficult to immediately conclude that fraud under the Criminal Act is established solely based on the fact that the salary on the job posting differs from the actual offered salary. For fraud to be established, elements such as deceptive act, act of disposition falling into error, occurrence of damage, and acquisition of profit, along with their causal relationship, must be proven. Simply proving that the advertised salary and the offered salary are different is not easy.

If wages are unfairly changed to the disadvantage of job seekers, contrary to the job posting, without justifiable reason, it can be problematic under Article 34 of the Employment Security Act prohibiting false recruitment advertisements or Article 4 of the Fair Recruitment Procedures Act. In a case from 2024 involving 'employment contracts different from recruitment postings,' a business that posted a salary of 36 million KRW but contracted at 2.67 million KRW per month was fined. Therefore, even if establishing fraud is difficult, there remains a possibility of sanctions depending on violations of related laws.