The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) again found that the National Intelligence Service (NIS) setting the application age for open recruitment at 20 to 29 is discrimination.
On the 12th, according to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the petitioner tried to apply for the National Intelligence Service (NIS) 2025 Grade 9 general service recruitment but could not apply because the person exceeded the upper age limit for eligibility. The petitioner filed a petition, saying the act was discrimination based on age without a reasonable cause.
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) imposes age limits of 20 to 29 for open recruitment and 20 to 45 for experienced hires. The NIS told the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) that "at the time of the March 2009 advance notice of legislation for the 'Enforcement Decree of the National Intelligence Service Staff Act,' it was already announced that 'considering the nature of an intelligence agency, which requires strict obedience to superiors and unlimited loyalty to the nation, a legal basis is being established to set an age limit for appointees.'"
However, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Committee for Remedy of Discrimination found that the NIS's act of setting an upper age limit for applicants was not justified by reasonable grounds and deemed it discriminatory.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said, "Age limits must be premised on objective and specific grounds related to job duties," and added, "Even if, by the nature of a national intelligence agency, hierarchical relationships based on rank are required more strictly than for other civil servants, a hierarchy strictly based on age is not necessarily required."
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) also cited as grounds that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) declares it does not discriminate for any reason, including age, race, religion, sex, or disability.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said, "Although an individual's ability to perform job duties is relative and individual and cannot be reduced to the single factor of age, the NIS's act of denying job fitness solely because a person exceeded a certain age and excluding the application opportunity itself is based on prejudice about age."
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) recommended that the director of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) revise the rule that uniformly restricts the upper age limit for applicants in open recruitment exams for general service positions.
However, it is unclear whether the National Intelligence Service (NIS) will accept the NHRC's recommendation. Even after the NIS raised the eligible age for open recruitment in 2009 compared with the previous standard, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) twice recommended revising the related rules, but the NIS did not accept them.