The In-guk-gong Incident, Young People Ask... What Is Fairness?

Inkgukgong Employees Launch 'Fair Regular Employment Transition National Petition'
On the 7th Afternoon Near Hongdaeipgu Station, Asking 20s About Fairness

"A Fair Hiring System Is Key"
"Feeling the Wall Between Regular and Irregular Classes"

Members of the Incheon International Airport Corporation labor union are participating in a public signature campaign demanding fair regular employment conversion at Hongdae Entrance Station on the afternoon of the 7th.

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jung] On the afternoon of the 7th, at Hongdae Entrance Station in Mapo-gu, Seoul, three union members of the Incheon International Airport Corporation (IIAC) union carried out promotional activities for the "National Signature Campaign for Fair and Transparent Regular Employment Conversion." Under the scorching sun of around 30 degrees Celsius, they held signs criticizing IIAC’s decision to convert irregular security screening workers to regular employees, with slogans playing on President Moon Jae-in’s presidential campaign motto: "Opportunities are unequal, processes are unfair, results are reverse discrimination." On this day, signature campaigns by the corporation’s union members continued at about ten major subway stations in Seoul, including Gwanghwamun, Gangnam, and Sinchon.

The IIAC issue became controversial after the corporation announced on the 21st of last month that it would directly hire 2,143 irregular workers, some of whom were "security guards," as regular employees of the company. The controversy over "unfairness" arose because the company directly hired workers without honoring the agreement to employ them through subsidiaries made with the union. A union member participating in the signature campaign said, "Citizens empathize with the fairness issues triggered by the IIAC incident," adding, "Union members are voluntarily participating in the signature campaign promotion activities, even taking annual leave." The number of participants in the signature campaign, which began on the 26th of last month, has already reached tens of thousands.

The IIAC issue has once again raised the topic of "fairness" in our society. However, even regarding the universal value of fairness, perspectives differ depending on the viewpoint. Especially among the younger generation, while there is consensus that the IIAC issue is a product of excessive competition, opinions sharply diverge on how to resolve the problem.

At the signature campaign booth near Hongdae Entrance Station, university student Seo Hyeji (23) said, "It’s like pouring cold water on the efforts of twenty-somethings desperate for regular employment," adding, "As seen in last year’s Cho Kuk incident, what our society demands is a fair hiring system free from shortcuts and disputes, but public enterprises are breaking the rules of the hiring market." Job seeker Jeong Daewon (27) also lamented, "Due to COVID-19, companies have reduced hiring, making employment even tougher, and 'sudden regular employment' like IIAC’s only leaves a sense of emptiness."

However, on the other side, some expressed anger toward a "modern caste society." They argued that the social atmosphere of drawing a clear line between regular and irregular workers and choosing discrimination and exclusion is fully reflected in the IIAC issue. Han Seongjae (26), a student at Hongik University, said, "I deeply felt how high the wall dividing regular and irregular workers is," and raised his voice, "The direction to reduce discrimination and conflict caused by irregular workers is viewed as unfair."

Imiri (29), aspiring to be a broadcast producer, said, "While working as a non-regular assistant director (FD) at a broadcasting station, I made relentless efforts, but the gap to become a regular employee was narrow, and I had to endure all kinds of power harassment from the company and superiors under the pretext of regular employment conversion," adding, "I believe that policy changes to widen the door to regular employment can give hope to many people."