Assemblyman Jeong Heeyong: "Agencies Under Agriculture and Maritime Affairs Committee Must Comply With Legal Employment Obligations and Fulfill Responsibilities Toward People With Disabilities"

According to data compiled by Assemblyman Jeong Heeyong of the People Power Party (Goryeong County, Seongju County, Chilgok County, National Assembly Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Food, and Maritime Affairs Committee) from agencies under the jurisdiction of the Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Food, and Maritime Affairs Committee, a total of 17 organizations under the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and its affiliated public and related institutions violated the mandatory employment quota for people with disabilities over the past five years (2020-2024), resulting in a total of 24,851,660,000 KRW in penalty payments.

For the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and its affiliated public and related institutions, 12 organizations were found in violation, with penalty payments amounting to 8,317,250,000 KRW.

In total, 29 agencies under the jurisdiction of the National Assembly Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Food, and Maritime Affairs Committee violated the mandatory employment quota for people with disabilities over the past five years. The total penalty payments made by these 29 agencies over the same period amounted to 33,168,910,000 KRW.

Jeong Heeyong, member of the People Power Party (Goryeong County, Seongju County, Chilgok County, National Assembly Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Food, and Maritime Affairs Committee) / Provided by Jeong Heeyong's office

Under the current Act on the Employment Promotion and Vocational Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities, companies and public institutions are required to employ a certain percentage of people with disabilities based on the total number of regularly employed workers. The current legal mandatory employment rate is 3.1% for companies and 3.8% for public institutions.

Among the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and its affiliated public and related institutions, the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation group (including the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, NH Economic Holdings, NH Financial Holdings, NH Bank, NH Life Insurance, and NH Property Insurance) paid the highest amount in penalties, totaling 21,702,000,000 KRW. This was followed by the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency (772,400,000 KRW), the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (697,310,000 KRW), the Korea Forest Service (482,080,000 KRW), and the Korea Rural Community Corporation (349,270,000 KRW).

Meanwhile, among the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and its affiliated public and related institutions, the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives group (including the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives, Suhyup Bank, Suhyup Noryangjin Fisheries, Suhyup Development, and Suhyup Distribution) paid the highest amount at 3,289,690,000 KRW, followed by the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (3,104,270,000 KRW), the Korean Register of Shipping (634,920,000 KRW), the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (565,150,000 KRW), and the Korea Marine Environment Management Corporation (271,610,000 KRW).

Assemblyman Jeong Heeyong stated, "Agencies under the jurisdiction of the Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Food, and Maritime Affairs Committee are still failing to fully comply with the statutory employment obligations," adding, "I will continue to urge these agencies to fulfill their responsibilities toward people with disabilities and other socially disadvantaged groups and to make ongoing improvements."