Verification standards

Every badge on LucyESL is the result of a manual check by us against the standards below. Each carries the date it was granted (hover a badge to see it), and lapses if the employer fails re-verification. Two things are always true:

• Verification is never for sale. It cannot be bought, and no paid feature will ever grant it.
• A badge is not an endorsement. It tells you a specific fact was checked — nothing more. Read the listing's Job Quality Report and ask your own questions.

What verification does not confirm: every badge confirms identity or business-registration information as submitted to us at the time of the check. It does not confirm working conditions, legal compliance, workplace safety, financial health, or how an employer will behave in the future. No badge replaces your own due diligence before signing a contract.

✓ Identity verified

What we checked: the person posting is who they say they are, and controls a work email or is an authorized contact for the organization.
What it does not mean: that the business itself, its registration, or the workplace was checked.

✓ Business verified

What we checked: everything in Identity, plus the organization's Korean business registration (사업자등록), and that the legal entity matches the one on the listing.
What it does not mean: that the teaching workplace address was confirmed, or that working conditions were audited.

✓ Academy verified

What we checked: everything in Business, plus the academy/school registration, the workplace address, and that the legal business name and the public academy name refer to the same place.
What it does not mean: that we vouch for the job. Conditions, schedule, and pay are the employer's claims — the Job Quality Report shows what they did and didn't put in writing.

Direct hire and recruiter labels

Separately from verification, every listing is labeled with who you would actually sign a contract with:

• Direct hire — you contract with the listed academy or school. No undisclosed intermediary.
• Public program — a public school or education-office program.
• Recruiter / Verified recruiter — an agency hiring on behalf of a client school. "Verified recruiter" means we confirmed the recruiter's identity and business registration and they have agreed to disclose their role; the actual employer must be revealed before you sign anything.
• Staffing company — you would be employed by the staffing firm and placed at a workplace.

You can filter the board for direct hire only.

How verification stays honest

• Badges show their verification date and are re-checked; stale verifications are removed.
• We keep an internal evidence record and approval history for every badge we grant.
• Listings that misrepresent the employer, the pay, or the recruiter relationship are taken down, and repeat problems cost the account its verification.
• See something that doesn't match? Use Report this listing on the listing page — how reporting works.

For schools and recruiters: how to get verified (in Korean) — 학원 인증 안내.