[2021 National Audit] Kim Yong-ik "Establish Separate Agency to Employ Customer Center Staff, Job Security Without Budget Increase"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jung] Kim Yong-ik, the president of the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS), expressed the view that establishing a separate affiliated organization to employ the currently privately outsourced customer center (call center) staff could ensure employment stability without increasing the budget.

On the 20th, during the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee’s audit, Kim made this statement in response to a question from Jeong Chun-sook, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, asking, "Is the media report about direct employment of customer center staff true?"

According to the NHIS, the 'Office Discussion Council,' which has been discussing the direct employment of about 1,600 customer center employees, recently decided to establish a separate affiliated organization instead of a subsidiary, and plans to hold its final meeting on the 21st to confirm and announce this policy.

Kim said, "The decision regarding the direct employment of customer center staff is not made by the NHIS but by the Office Discussion Council, a social deliberation body, so it is not appropriate to disclose how the decision will be made beforehand," adding, "The Office Discussion Council is scheduled to meet tomorrow."

When Rep. Jeong asked, "Then, has the issue of direct employment of customer center staff been resolved?" Kim replied, "Once the council makes a decision, the NHIS will receive the proposal, review it, and report it to the Ministry of Labor," and added, "We will do our best to make efforts."

Kim further stated, "Establishing a separate affiliated organization does not mean hiring new staff," and added, "Since the 1,600 employees will be accepted through a certain hiring process within the current outsourcing budget, it is expected that employment stability can be ensured without additional personnel increase or budget expansion."