Court Rules Gender-Restricted Job Posting Illegal After Human Rights Commission Called It a 'Simple Mistake'

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea and the courts reached opposite conclusions on a job posting that limited applications to a specific gender. While the Commission judged the posting to be a simple mistake, the court found it unlawful.

The dispute began with a whistleblower post on September 5. The complainant pointed out that the posting included a condition restricting eligibility to a specific gender, and this observation led to both a petition to the Human Rights Commission and a court lawsuit.

The Seoul High Court issued an illegality ruling on the job posting (case 2026Nu3600). By affirming its unlawfulness, the ruling established a legal benchmark for cases involving gender-restricted job postings.