The main entrance of Dongduk Women's University is covered with handwritten posters in protest of the school's possible transition to a coeducational institution, Sunday. Yonhap

Yun, a 27-year-old Seoul-based job seeker who graduated from Seoul Women's University, felt scared as she woke up on Monday and read the news on the possible hiring discrimination against graduates from women's universities.

"Korea has always had a bad image of women's universities and I had felt that ever since I was a student," she said, explaining that she often felt that Korean society projected a stereotype of them, painting them as "sensitive and emotional."

Last week, an online post claiming that "the acceptance rate of applicants from Dongduk Women's University is expected to decrease during the second half of this year" was uploaded on the anonymous workplace community Blind.

The writer, who was certified to be working at a large company here and claimed that his spouse is in charge of hiring in the human resources (HR) department of the same company, said, "There was no direct mention about giving them a disadvantage at the meeting, but we should wait and see what kind of butterfly effect this could bring."

According to local news reports, his was not the only post carrying the same message.

Another Blind user, who was confirmed to work for a semiconductor giant, left a comment on a post about the student protests, saying, "The human resources team (here) has already started filtering (Dongduk Women's University graduates)." Meanwhile, another user, who works at an auto parts company also added, "They have been filtering (women's university graduates) discretely so far, but now they have an excuse to do so very openly."

Although Yun supports the cause of the ongoing rights movement at Dongduk and Seoul Women's universities “with all her heart,” she said that the “fear is real” when it comes to potential hiring discrimination.

"Many people see the student protests negatively, and they are usually the ones who are in a position to hire young people at the company," Yun said.

Lee, a 24-year-old student who will graduate from Dongduk Women's University next year, shared Yun's view.

"I think this ridiculous reality shows exactly why Korea still needs women's universities,” Lee said, referring to the hiring discrimination issue.

“Although I'm proud to have graduated from a women's university, I'm also worried that the prejudice against women's university graduates could worsen, while the economy is so difficult and employment is getting harder in reality.”

Dongduk Women's University campus is covered with spray paint, Sunday, following the student protests against the possible transition to coed. Yonhap

Meanwhile, the board member of a public institution under the Ministry of Labor and Employment was also embroiled in a discrimination controversy.

Lee Woo-young, chairman of the Human Resources Development Service of Korea, wrote on his Facebook page on Nov. 16, "I want to filter out candidates from this university if possible," referring to Dongduk Women's University.

"From the perspective of a father with a son, I think I will never accept a daughter-in-law from this university," he said. "I'm glad that my eldest daughter-in-law is a decent person from a coeducational college, and my youngest son's girlfriend is a true person from a coeducational college."

Although the truth of the matter remains unknown, the potential hiring discrimination against women's university graduates has been openly unfolding online, with some internet communities also moving to file a complaint with the labor ministry.

After a series of anonymous reports of such discrimination, the government launched an investigation. An official from the labor ministry said, "We are currently collecting reports as they are coming in," adding, "We are aware of the facts and will deal with them in accordance with laws and principles if they are found to be in violation of the law."

The Equal Employment Opportunity and Work-Family Balance Assistance Act stipulates that employers should not discriminate between men and women when recruiting or hiring workers.

However, the penalty remains minor. Those who violate this law can be fined up to 5 million won ($3,566).

This is not the first time that Korean companies have been accused of hiring discrimination against women's university graduates.

Last year, a Blind post titled "I skip resumes from women's universities," written by someone who claims to be in charge of a company's HR team, went viral.

At that time, about 2,800 reports of alleged discrimination followed, and the labor ministry also launched a fact-finding investigation, which concluded that there was no gender discrimination related to hiring at the company.