Seoul SR Center Prioritizes Hiring Low-Income and Homeless Individuals to Support Vulnerable Groups' Independence

Continued Employment Efforts for Stable Work Environment Including 91% Regular Employee Hiring

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Eco City Seoul, which operates the SR Center, announced on the 15th that as of June this year, it employs 38 vulnerable individuals out of 58 paid workers, accounting for 66%. This figure is more than double the minimum mandatory employment rate of 30% for social enterprises.

The SR Center has been providing employment opportunities for self-sufficiency and independence to low-income individuals and homeless people by linking with Seoul City's homeless job support projects and local job support agencies. Additionally, in the hiring process, when candidates have the same score, vulnerable groups are given priority, demonstrating efforts to employ the disadvantaged.

Among the center's workers, 91% are regular employees. Except for those with less than one year of service, all workers are hired as regular employees to provide a stable working environment for vulnerable groups.

Among the currently employed workers, 78% of the vulnerable group have worked for more than five years, indicating a high level of job satisfaction. While only 25% of non-vulnerable workers have worked for more than five years, the figure for vulnerable workers is 78%, showing that their job satisfaction is higher than that of non-vulnerable workers. Workers take great pride in contributing to resource circulation and solving environmental pollution issues by generating economically valuable recyclable materials from discarded electronic products.

Yoo Yeon-sik, Head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Climate and Environment Headquarters, stated, “The SR Center has been a model for ‘walking together with the disadvantaged’ by creating sustainable jobs for vulnerable groups. Through dismantling and sorting discarded electronic products to extract valuable materials, it contributes not only to resource circulation but also to social integration.” He added, “The city will continue to strengthen efforts to create quality jobs for vulnerable groups in the resource circulation sector.”