Commissioner Kim Gyeong-hyeop, "Discussions on preferential hiring" in response to controversy over laid-off workers at the Overseas Korean Cooperation Center

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Seong Do-hyeon = In the process of the Overseas Korean Cooperation Center disappearing and being integrated into the Overseas Koreans Office due to government reorganization, a criticism was made at the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee's comprehensive government audit on the 27th regarding the prolongation of the solution to the 'unemployment situation' where a large number of employees lost their jobs.

Woo Won-sik, a member of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee and a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, pointed out, "It shouldn't be handled like this," referring to the demonstration in front of the National Assembly by center employees who lost their jobs today, calling for employment succession.

Rep. Woo said, “The government promised to make it a principle to ensure that employees do not lose their jobs or receive worse treatment during the consolidation process,” and called for employment succession measures through amendments to related laws.

Kim Gyeong-hyeop, head of the Office of Overseas Koreans, responded that they discussed revising the law, but were unable to proceed due to the reluctance of the Ministry of Public Administration and Security and the Ministry of Personnel Management.

In addition, it was revealed that 21 people passed and 16 were eliminated in the career competitive recruitment for 37 positions, but after passing the next-highest-ranking positions due to abandonment and additional hiring for vacant positions, the final number of unemployed people was 12.

Commissioner Kim explained, "We proposed hiring them for public service positions, but there were no applicants, so we are pursuing hiring them at public institutions of their choice," and added, "We are discussing with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the Korean Red Cross."

He emphasized, "Rather than going through a recruitment test process, we are discussing with the Ministry of Finance and Economy so that we can give priority to hiring other public institutions for the remaining personnel created during the consolidation of public institutions. We plan to hire them first."

Following the dissolution of the Overseas Koreans Cooperation Center, the center's work was transferred to the Overseas Koreans' Office, but 17 of the 37 center employees (currently 12) did not pass the career competitive recruitment conducted by the Overseas Koreans' Office for employment succession.

The Office of Overseas Koreans announced 37 positions as career-competitive recruitment in line with the number of center employees, but there were no restrictions on applicants, so 437 people from government ministries, public institutions, and the private sector applied, and the competition rate reached about 12 to 1.