[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The National Human Rights Commission of Korea announced on the 1st that it recommended Seoul Energy Corporation, an institution under the Seoul Metropolitan Government, to reflect the mandatory military service period in the seniority calculation for operational support staff, but the corporation responded with a 'non-acceptance' stance.
The job categories at Seoul Energy Corporation are divided into office staff, technical staff (general staff), and operational support staff. Operational support staff are responsible for tasks such as office support, nutritionist, cooking, environmental cleaning, driving, facility security, and facility management.
The complainant filed a petition with the Human Rights Commission, arguing that unlike the general staff who have their military service period converted into career experience and included in seniority, operational support staff are not recognized, which constitutes discrimination.
In response, the corporation stated, "Operational support staff cannot be assigned positions, and their job difficulty is lower and simpler compared to general staff, so we do not distinguish experienced workers in hiring." They added, "Since the possession of experience does not significantly affect hiring or job performance evaluation, military service is not recognized in seniority calculation."
However, the Human Rights Commission judged that considering the purpose of the 'Act on Support for Veterans,' which aims to prevent disadvantages due to military service for veterans and promote their social reintegration and manpower utilization, general staff and operational support staff essentially belong to the same group. Furthermore, military service experience cannot be seen as career experience that affects hiring or job performance evaluation for either operational support staff or general staff, and if the respondent decided to recognize military service experience for employees under the purpose of supporting veterans, it is difficult to find a reasonable reason to exclude operational support staff.
The corporation stated that regarding the Human Rights Commission's recommendation, they received an external advisory opinion that it is difficult to consider general staff and operational support staff as the same group, and considering the opinion from the Seoul Metropolitan Government to maintain the same standards as court precedents and cases of affiliated institutions of Seoul City for similar incidents, they decided not to accept the Human Rights Commission's recommendation.
The Human Rights Commission stated, "Considering the purpose of the system that includes military service periods in work experience to prevent disadvantages due to military service for veterans and to promote their social reintegration and manpower utilization, it is judged that the respondent needs to take a more progressive attitude and make active efforts regarding the recognition of military service periods, and the related content is announced pursuant to the 'National Human Rights Commission Act.'"
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