Title
No safeguard against forged documents, Apostille Korea urges a check on how originals are received Police in Jongam, Seoul detained a man in his twenties on suspicion of forging and selling 93 public and private documents, yet the bodies that received them noticed nothing until the investigation began.
Content
Apostille Korea said that to reduce the damage caused by forged paperwork in hiring and eligibility screening, organisations should receive original documents through a trusted agency channel rather than accepting what the applicant hands over. In a document forgery case uncovered recently, a forged school record was used to secure a job at a major company.
- Jongam Police in Seoul detained a 28-year-old man accused of forging and selling 93 public and private documents over one year.
- Eight people who commissioned the forgeries were also booked without detention on forgery charges.
- The bodies that received the documents did not notice the forgery until the police investigation began.
- In a survey by a job portal, 25.3 percent of companies said they had cancelled a hire because of falsified credentials.
There is no mechanism to filter out forged paperwork
Jongam Police in Seoul detained a 28-year-old man accused of forging and selling 93 public and private documents, including Family Relationship Certificates and school records, for money over the course of a year, and booked eight people who had commissioned the work. One of them ordered a forged school record in order to pass a major company's special recruitment track for applicants with disabilities. Although he had attended a vocational high school, he used a forged academic high school record and was actually hired. The documents ordered by the group also included academic transcripts, high school diplomas and hospital medical certificates. The larger problem is that the bodies receiving these documents noticed nothing until the police opened their investigation. Searching for the phrase document forgery on search portals and social media puts a user in contact with brokers without difficulty, and those brokers operate with their email addresses and phone numbers openly displayed on public websites, yet enforcement remains difficult.
Where the original comes from is the decisive point
The range of paperwork the brokers advertise is wide. From college entrance and English test score reports and technical certificates to seal certificates, resident registration cards and criminal record certificates, most documents in circulation are named as possible targets. Institutions, associations and companies are looking for countermeasures against forged paperwork, but few practical filters exist. Large corporations and foreign-invested firms can verify documents through screening agencies, while smaller organisations have far less capacity to do so. In a survey by a job portal, 25.3 percent of companies said they had cancelled a hire because of falsified credentials. Apostille Korea proposes that individuals, companies and organisations receive originals through a trusted document agency channel instead of accepting paperwork handed over by the applicant. Securing the original through a route in which the submitting party never intervenes, the company says, removes the opportunity for the document to be altered in the first place.
Frequently asked questions
How can we tell whether a submitted document is forged?
In practice there is no reliable filter available to the receiving body. Large corporations and foreign-invested firms can use screening agencies, but smaller organisations find it far harder. Receiving the original through an agency channel is safer than accepting what the applicant hands over.
Which documents are typically forged?
This case involved Family Relationship Certificates, school records, academic transcripts, high school diplomas and hospital medical certificates. Online, brokers advertise forgeries of entrance and English test score reports, technical certificates, seal certificates, resident registration cards and criminal record certificates.
What role does Apostille Korea play?
It obtains the required civil documents directly from the issuing authorities on the client's behalf and delivers them. Securing originals through a route in which the submitting party never intervenes lowers the risk of forgery.
Source: 문화뉴스 · 2017-04-21