"I Want to Overturn All Noryangjin Cupbap" 2030s at Incheon Airport Regular Employee Conversion 'Frustrated'

Incheon International Airport Corporation Prepares to Convert 1,902 Workers to Full-Time
Job Seekers, Exam Candidates, and University Students Complain "Process Is Unfair"
Former President Moon Communicated with Job Seekers Over 'Cupbap' in Noryangjin
Exam Candidates Outraged, Questioning If Comfort Over 'Cupbap' Was False

Moon Jae-in, then the presidential candidate of the Democratic United Party (currently the Democratic Party of Korea), is eating cupbap with exam candidates at a cupbap street stall near Noryangjin Station in Dongjak-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of September 20, 2012.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] "This is just too much.", "Why did I even eat cupbap, I want to throw everything away.", "Are we fools!"

Young people are flooding with criticism over Incheon International Airport Corporation's (IIAC) decision to directly employ 1,902 non-regular workers and convert them to regular positions.

The conversion of IIAC's non-regular workers to regular employees is President Moon Jae-in's 'No Non-Regular Workers No.1' pledge. Shortly after his inauguration in May 2017, President Moon visited Incheon Airport and promised to convert 10,000 non-regular workers at the airport into regular employees.

Incheon Airport is known among young people as a "dream workplace." According to a survey conducted by Incruit earlier this month on the "most desirable public enterprises to work for," IIAC ranked first with 18.4%. The starting salary for new employees is also the highest among public enterprises at 45.89 million KRW.

However, many point out that non-regular workers do not become regular employees immediately just because of the president's pledge. Especially among those in their 20s and 30s, including job seekers, civil service exam takers, university students, and young workers just starting their careers, there is strong criticism that "this is unfair itself."

There are claims that converting IIAC's non-regular workers to regular employees is actually reverse discrimination, as even job seekers with a GPA in the high 3.0s and TOEIC scores in the mid-900s find it difficult to get in.

On the morning of January 2nd, at a civil service exam academy located in Noryangjin, Dongjak-gu, Seoul, examinees are deeply focused on their studies. Photo by Seulgi Kim, Intern Reporter sabiduriakim@asiae.co.kr

In particular, young people are raising their voices again by referring to President Moon's words and actions toward young job seekers. Although he showed empathy for the desperation of job seekers, the IIAC incident has ultimately tarnished that image.

On an online cafe where job seekers gather, harsh criticism poured in over President Moon Jae-in visiting Noryangjin in Dongjak-gu, Seoul, on September 20, 2012, as the Democratic United Party (now the Democratic Party of Korea) presidential candidate, eating "cupbap" and comforting civil service exam takers.

The president ate cupbap to build empathy, showing he understood the desperation of job seekers, but the IIAC incident has only increased distrust.

A job seeker in their 20s, A, said, "Visiting Noryangjin and eating cupbap is not what's important. What policies or jobs were there for job seekers? In the end, is this a country where non-regular workers become regular employees just because the president says so? Is this fair?"

Meanwhile, President Moon's attention to a young job seeker who sat with him during the 'Hope Meeting' in Gwanghwamun is now also being criticized. While empathizing with young people's desperation in job hunting, he is being questioned on how the IIAC incident was allowed to happen.

President Moon is consoling a young person preparing for the civil service exam while running as a presidential candidate in March 2017. Photo by Dingo, YouTube capture.

In March 2017, as a presidential candidate, President Moon visited Noryangjin to hear the difficult stories of civil service exam takers. There, he met a young job seeker in his 20s, B, who was waiting while doing laundry but never let go of his exam books.

In front of President Moon, B shared, "I have been trying the military civil service exam for three years but the results were not good, so I decided to return to school and am preparing for a new start while working part-time."

President Moon showed special interest and affection by asking many questions such as, "It must be a waste of time," "Have you returned to school now?" and "How is your part-time job?"

That day, President Moon shared samgyeopsal (pork belly) and soju with B, giving life advice from the perspective of a senior rather than a presidential candidate, including study methods. Especially when parting, President Moon untied his necktie and gave it as a gift, wishing for B's success.

President Moon did not forget B and invited him to the Gwanghwamun Hope Meeting in July 2018.

President Moon, as a presidential candidate in March 2017, met a young person preparing for the civil service exam and comforted them by gifting his own necktie as they parted. Photo by YouTube 'Dingo' capture

Also, during the 2012 presidential election, President Moon visited Noryangjin again in January 2017, sharing cupbap with B, who was preparing for the police civil service exam.

Civil service exam takers are harshly criticizing the situation. One civil service exam taker said on an online community, "At that time, President Moon's appearance was to comfort young people exhausted from job hunting," and asked, "Then how can the relative deprivation of young people caused by the IIAC incident be comforted?"

Another civil service exam taker, C, said, "Looking back at the situation now, it seems it was just for show," and expressed frustration, "The president who knows the desperation of job seekers so well cannot do this. No matter how much it is a pledge, this is problematic."

Photo by Cheongwadae National Petition Board Capture

Petitions condemning this have also been posted on the Blue House's public petition board. Petitions such as "Is the unconditional conversion of Incheon International Airport Corporation's non-regular workers to regular employees equality?", "Please revert the direct employment and regularization of Incheon Airport Corporation's security guards," and "Stop the conversion of non-regular workers to regular employees when opportunities are not equal" have been posted.

Among them, the petition titled "Stop the regularization of public enterprise non-regular workers" had 149,940 supporters as of 9:30 a.m. on the 24th. The petitioner lamented, "Even jobs that were hired as temporary part-time workers have become regular employees, and through protests, they receive the same wages and benefits as existing regular employees. Amid this, the recent conversion at Incheon International Airport is truly shocking."

Meanwhile, the number of security screening workers directly employed by Incheon Airport is 1,902. The corporation plans to directly employ about 2,100 existing non-regular workers, including airport firefighters and wildlife control personnel, out of approximately 9,700 non-regular workers.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.