Nuriho Researchers' 'Passion Pay' Controversy... KAIST Space Center's Legal Dispute Over Unpaid Overtime Allowances

"Ministry of Economy and Finance Wage System Needs Revision... Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute Also Asked to Step In"
Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute "Positively Considering Compensation Measures"

Researchers from the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), the key players behind the successful launch of the Nuri rocket, are currently involved in a legal dispute over unpaid overtime allowances. The labor union argues that the Ministry of Economy and Finance and KARI should take a more proactive approach to resolving the issue to prevent talent drain.

Eight members of the KARI branch of the Korean Federation of Science and Technology Labor Unions (Korean Science and Technology Labor Union) working at KARI’s Satellite Research Institute Satellite Final Assembly and Test Center filed a collective civil lawsuit in April claiming unpaid overtime wages.

The total amount claimed is 30 million KRW for night and holiday work allowances. They assert that from September 2019 to April 22, 2022, they worked 24-hour shifts in three shifts daily for satellite space environment testing but did not receive any night or holiday work allowances.

In an interview with MBC Radio’s "Kim Jong-bae’s Focus" on the 8th, Shin Myung-ho, head of the KARI branch of the Korean Science and Technology Labor Union, explained, "Since 2021, the management has taken a passive stance and tried to reduce the payment of allowances. Although union members and employees expressed dissatisfaction and demanded proper payment, no agreement has been reached, leading to the lawsuit."

He added, "There were comments like ‘Researchers don’t do overtime like that,’ which is like passion pay. Such views are inconsistent with recent concepts of labor and working hours," he criticized.

On the 16th of last month, at the launch vehicle assembly building of Naro Space Center in Goheung, Jeollanam-do, the integration work of the first, second, and third stages of the Korean launch vehicle 'Nuriho,' scheduled for its third launch on the 24th, is underway. [Image source=Yonhap News Agency, Korea Aerospace Research Institute]

The issue of unpaid overtime allowances is closely related to the wage payment system. According to KARI, while it is true that there are unused personnel expenses due to leaves of absence or unfilled positions, these funds must be returned to the government. Therefore, even if there are leftover personnel expenses, they cannot be paid to researchers as overtime allowances.

However, the remaining personnel expenses excluding the unused funds can be used internally by the institution. But since these are being used as wage increases through agreements with the union, using the remaining personnel expenses for overtime payments could negatively affect employee treatment, such as reducing wage increase rates, KARI explained.

Thus, the union’s position is that the Ministry of Economy and Finance should revise the wage payment system. They also believe KARI should take a more active role in resolving the issue. Shin said, "Overtime allowances are for work done, so they are not wage increases. If the Ministry of Economy and Finance simply opens guidelines to allow the use of remaining or unused personnel expenses, there would be no problem, but the institution is not making efforts such as applying for this," he criticized.

He further argued that if the unpaid overtime allowance issue is not resolved, the outflow of young talent will worsen. Shin explained, "Generally, older employees tend to stay, but younger colleagues tend to consider leaving, so turnover occurs. We always compare ourselves to the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, and there is about a 10 million KRW difference in allowances," he said.

Shin added, "To secure personnel, wages for younger employees, especially those in their 40s, need to be raised to avoid problems in recruiting new talent, but nothing has changed despite these claims. Recently, even after passing the KARI recruitment, people are going elsewhere," he reported.

He continued, "Following the successful third launch of the Nuri rocket, the government gave special bonuses as performance pay, but this is temporary and does not create a situation where new personnel can be recruited or prevent young employees from leaving."

Regarding this, KARI stated that it is continuously pursuing institutional improvements related to the overtime allowance payment lawsuit and expressed a positive stance on reviewing compensation measures such as overtime pay.