KCON USA Investigates Racist Job Posting, Terminating Relationship With Responsible Vendor
Yesterday, KCON USA, one of the biggest Hallyu-centered music festivals in the world, was under fire from netizens after an overtly racist job posting was discovered.
A job listing for KCON USA was shared via Backstage, a job posting website predominantly used for film, TV, etc. Its job description shocked and disappointed netizens as it requested not only young women aged 18 to 30 but also ethnicity “Asian, White/European Descent” as requirements. Netizens called out KCON USA for the alarming and racist job posting, even pointing out how it could create legal issues for the company.
me not being qualified to work kcon bc im not asian nor white…. @Backstage RACIST WEIRDOS pic.twitter.com/pO4xLDPI0N
— amber misses dream (@cuitknj) July 17, 2023
this literally goes against Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964 *AND* Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 😭😭😭😭😭 lawsuit looking real nice on y'all @KCON_official @kconusa https://t.co/jqRbbkIDPA
— lynn ✩₅ misses piwon (@seolarflame) July 18, 2023
A few hours later, KCON USA shared a statement via its official social media accounts. KCON USA claimed it had not authorized the job posting, and the company denounced any discrimination.
Netizens weren’t buying it, though. Many were in disbelief that KCON USA knew nothing until now.
Now, KCON USA has provided an additional update. The main organizers investigated to discover that one of its agencies hired an outside vendor, which created the job posting. So, KCON USA’s agency officially terminated its relationship with the vendor responsible for the racist job posting. Additionally, KCON USA apologized.
Dear KCONers,
We wanted to follow up with you about the results of our investigation into the egregious job posting which you kindly brought to our attention yesterday.
Thank you for your patience.First of all, as the main organizer of KCON, we regard this matter very seriously and take responsibility for the hurt and disappointment this has caused. We are reinforcing and raising awareness of our commitment to diversity, inclusion, and respect within our organization and those who work with us.
We found that the posting was created by an outside vendor hired by one of KCON’s agencies without their or KCON’s direction or approval. Our agency has terminated the relationship with the outside vendor effective immediately. We are further reviewing measures to ensure greater oversight in all communication channels related to our event going forward.
From the KCON organization, we want to extend a heartfelt apology to all the KCON fans who rightfully expect to be respected and admired and not excluded. In the course of looking into this matter, many of us read your comments and we reaffirmed our commitment to making KCON a place for everyone to enjoy.
Please continue to help us make KCON better.
— KCON USA
