[Report] "Is This Fair? Efforts Betrayed" 'InGukGong' Regular Employment Conversion... Job Seekers and University Students Outraged

'Dream Workplace' Incheon Airport Nears Conversion of 1,902 Non-Regular Workers to Regular Positions
Noryangjin Public Service Exam Students' Frustration, Anger, and Bewilderment... University Campuses Say "Is This All the Reward for Our Efforts?" in Outrage

On the afternoon of the 23rd, students and other citizens are walking near Exit 3 of Noryangjin Station.
Photo by Yeonju Kim, Intern Reporter yeonju1853@asiae.co.kr

[Asia Economy reporters Seunggon Han, interns Yeonju Kim and Juhee Kang] "I've studied and prepared for years, but now it feels out of reach," "What happens to those who have worked hard?"

As Incheon International Airport Corporation (IIAC) announced on the 21st that it would directly employ 1,902 non-regular security screening personnel as security guards and convert them to regular employees, there has been strong backlash from young people including job seekers, civil service exam takers, and university students.

Amid worsening economic conditions and a severely contracted job market, job seekers and university students met on the afternoon of the 23rd around the Noryangjin academy district and Seodaemun university area in Seoul could not hide their feelings of frustration upon hearing the news.

One civil service exam taker expressed anger, saying, "Is it okay to disregard the efforts of job seekers like this?"

Park (27), who said he has been preparing for public enterprise employment for two years, said, "I feel the job market is getting narrower every day, and I was disheartened after watching the news yesterday. Students studying here are desperately trying to get into companies with good conditions. Many even quit after getting hired and came back to prepare again. But is it okay to make the efforts of job seekers who have been preparing step by step seem like nothing?" he vented his frustration.

He continued, "I talked with people in my study group, and everyone felt disheartened. If I had known this, I would have waited for regular employment by working as a contract worker or part-timer at the corporation instead of studying while worrying about my parents' opinions," he said, choking up.

Citizens crossing the crosswalk near the Noryangjin academy district on the afternoon of the 23rd. Photo by Yeonju Kim, intern reporter yeonju1853@asiae.co.kr

IIAC is regarded as a "dream workplace" for job seekers since it is a public enterprise. The recruitment process is known to be rigorous, including document screening, written exams, and first and second interviews. Due to the nature of an international airport, language proficiency scores and additional language points are also considered.

Because of this, job seekers who have prepared for public enterprise employment for a long time expressed their frustration, feeling their efforts were wasted. On the morning of the same day, a post titled "Please stop regularizing non-regular workers in public enterprises" was uploaded on the Blue House's national petition board.

Especially, job seekers felt even more deprived after screenshots of a group chat room, presumed to be participated in by corporation employees, were revealed on online communities.

Lee (27), a civil service exam taker, said, "In a situation where hope that anyone can succeed if they try is not enough, this shows that efforts can also be betrayed. In the non-regular workers' group chat, they casually talk about 'looking at Benz cars' and 'buying foreign cars,' which made me furious. If this is the case, I should have just done part-time jobs and waited for luck," he sarcastically remarked.

Another civil service exam taker, Heo (28), said, "I understand the government's intention to resolve employment instability for non-regular workers. But as soon as regularization was decided, it is intolerable that in the non-regular workers' open chat room, employees who worked hard to enter the corporation are mocked with phrases like 'What's there to be unfair about?', 'Why did you live so hard?', and 'Seoul National University is nothing special'," he lamented.

At 3:15 PM on the 23rd, a university in Seoul. Students are deeply focused on studying.
Photo by Joohee Kang, Intern Reporter kjh818@asiae.co.kr

Some job seekers expressed anxiety that the threshold for employment might become even higher due to IIAC's large-scale regularization.

Kim (31), who is preparing to enter a public enterprise after quitting a private company, said, "I have a mock exam soon, but I can't focus. As the number of people preparing for public enterprise employment increases every year, competition is getting tougher, and this regularization will raise the hiring bar even more," he complained.

Kim expressed anger, saying, "For job seekers who build various qualifications to pass document screening and study hard to pass written exams, this news is like a bolt from the blue. Is it a fair society to take away opportunities from those who work hard? What exactly is the fair society the country talks about?"

University students about to enter the job market also expressed feelings of frustration. Some pointed out that even if regularization occurs, proper legal procedures should have been followed.

Choi (22), a student attending a university in Seoul, said, "Even if they are converted to regular employees, there should be procedures or exams to assess qualifications. If all non-regular employees are indiscriminately converted to regular employees, what happens to the efforts of those who prepared hard to get in and those who are still struggling for employment? While it is true that non-regular workers should be eliminated and that this is a good policy, isn't this a situation where those who worked hard are ultimately harmed?" he pointed out.

Around 2:50 p.m. on the 23rd, at the main gate of a university in Seoul. Students are walking by.
Photo by Joohee Kang, Intern Reporter kjh818@asiae.co.kr

The regularization of IIAC's non-regular workers was a key pledge of President Moon Jae-in's 'Zero Non-Regular Workers No. 1' policy. Shortly after his inauguration in May 2017, President Moon personally visited Incheon Airport and promised to convert 10,000 non-regular workers at the airport to regular employees. Earlier, in his inaugural speech, he emphasized the regularization of public enterprises, stating, "Opportunities will be equal, processes will be fair, and results will be just."

However, young people unanimously said that this non-regular worker conversion process is neither equal nor fair. University students complained that preparing for employment will become even more daunting in the future.

Lee (24), a senior student at a university in Seoul, said, "Students about to graduate are already busy preparing for employment by taking TOEIC and certification exams besides school studies. They study in their spare time outside of part-time jobs on weekends. Despite such efforts, it's uncertain whether they will succeed. When I heard the news that non-regular workers would be converted to regular employees without any verification process, who could defend that? I only feel that even if I try hard in the future, I will be betrayed," he lamented.

Another university student, Kim (21), said, "IIAC is one of the most desired public enterprises, but seeing people who entered without any special procedures suddenly converted to regular employees made me wonder what the point of my studying is. I don't even know how to prepare for employment going forward. I also think this is not entirely good from the company's perspective. Who can feel a sense of accomplishment working in a job they entered easily without effort?" he pointed out.

Meanwhile, the Incheon Airport Labor Union (regular employees' union) urged the management on the 23rd to halt the plan to convert security guards to regular employees.

The union stated, "The government's pressure to maintain security guards contradicts its own policy to abolish them due to aging and bureaucratization issues. Even the Korea Airport Corporation is trying to abolish this system. Direct employment through security guards will push non-regular workers seeking job stability into unemployment and cause serious labor conflicts not only at Incheon Airport but also at regional airports, ports, and other public enterprises, wasting enormous public funds," they claimed.

As the controversy spread, the corporation said, "Since the contracts with security screening personnel expire in June, we had to quickly come up with a regularization plan, so we could not closely consult with the union. We plan to proceed with the hiring process and prepare relief measures for those who fail," they explained. The corporation plans to complete hiring by the end of the year, even if separate recruitment procedures are conducted, as the direct employment policy for security screening personnel has been decided.