"Constantly Straying from the Point" Kim Du-kwan's 'In-guk-gong Remarks' Stir Youths' Frustration

"Youth's Wish is an Annual Salary of 35 Million Won?"
"It's More Unfair That Regular Employees Earn Twice as Much as Non-Regulars After Becoming Permanent Staff"
Criticized as a 'Youth Anger Provoker' for Statements That Miss the Point

Members of the Incheon International Airport Corporation Labor Union announced their position on the conversion of non-regular workers at a press conference held near the Blue House in Seoul on the 25th of last month. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon, Intern Reporter Kang Joo-hee] As Kim Du-gwan, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, continues to comment on the regular employment conversion at Incheon International Airport Corporation (IIAC), he has been facing daily backlash for remarks that fail to properly understand the dissatisfaction and demands of young people.

Kim has been criticized for making remarks detached from the youth's criticism, such as calling the issue of 'unfairness' raised by the IIAC incident 'nitpicking' and 'fake news,' thereby fueling controversy.

Earlier, on the 22nd of last month, the corporation announced a plan to directly employ 1,902 security screening personnel as public security officers instead of the previous special security guards, which sparked the IIAC incident.

Regarding this, Kim posted on his Facebook on the 26th of last month, stating, "(The regular employment conversion at IIAC) is said to be unfair, but it is not," and argued, "It is rather unfair that those who studied a bit more and passed the written exam receive about twice the wage of non-regular workers after becoming regular employees."

He added, "I want to look into the essence of the problem together with the young people who signed the national petition," but regarding the fact that over 200,000 people agreed to the Blue House petition opposing the regularization of IIAC, he said, "It is due to fake news aimed at attacking the government's public sector regular employment conversion policy."

Some netizens strongly opposed Kim's remarks, saying, "He is talking about something different from the essence of the issue."

On an online community, netizen A said, "Why should those who want to be rewarded for their efforts be told that it is unfair? Job seekers put in so much effort to enter large companies and corporations, how can he say such things?" and expressed anger, saying, "If people are not rewarded for their efforts, who would want to study more and work harder? I don't understand why this is dismissed as selfishness."

A petition titled "Please lower the salaries of Democratic Party lawmakers, including Representative Kim Du-kwan, to the level of their aides" was posted on the Blue House National Petition Board on the 30th of last month. Photo by Blue House Board Capture

On the 27th, the next day, Kim again posted on his Facebook, saying, "'Lotto employment' and 'unfairness'?nitpicking continues over the regular employment conversion at IIAC," and continued with remarks that seemed to reprimand the youth, saying, "Is the youth's wish to be security screening personnel earning an annual salary of 35 million won? Is it that they cannot accept workers who did tough jobs becoming 'regular employees' even though it's not their place?"

He added, "Is it only me who feels the shadow of wrongful privilege in the idea that 'how dare non-regular workers enter the 'God's workplace'?a prestigious job in Seoul where one can prepare for employment for 5 or 10 years without worrying about livelihood'?"

Following Kim's remarks, on the 30th of last month, a post titled "Please lower the salaries of Kim Du-gwan and other Democratic Party members to the level of their aides" was uploaded on the Blue House national petition board.

The petitioner pointed out, "As Kim said, it is unfair to receive double the salary just because one studied a bit more," and added, "Please lower the salaries of Democratic Party members who share the same opinion to the level of their aides. Also, if they give up the privileges they receive as members, it will save taxpayers' money and show the sincerity of the Democratic Party's policies."

Summarizing the youth's criticism, they agree with the government's policy to regularize non-regular workers but demand that 'equal opportunity' be provided in the process. At a time when employment difficulties and job shortages continue, converting non-regular workers to regular employees without competition is seen as unfair to other young people preparing for employment.

Youth also express great concern about job reduction due to this IIAC regular employment conversion. They criticize that if 1,900 non-regular workers are converted to regular employees in a corporation that currently has about 1,500 regular employees, it could affect new recruitment.

Kim Du-kwan, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea / Photo by Yonhap News

Kim repeats his existing stance that the regular employment conversion of IIAC security screening personnel is justified.

On the 3rd, Kim posted on his Facebook, saying, "Converting non-regular employees to regular employees does not reduce the jobs of existing regular employees," and analyzed, "Labor reform should start with reducing wage gaps. If a social agreement is reached to pay the same wages for labor of equal value regardless of employment type, companies hiring non-regular workers will decrease."

He explained, "I took on the stigma of being a 'youth anger instigator' to fight against Chosun Ilbo and conservative politicians because I believed that if we lose this fight, more young people will remain trapped in the plight of non-regular workers and wage polarization will worsen."

He added, "It is the right of youth to be angry at a wrong world, but the direction of anger is important," and said, "The arrow of anger should be turned toward those who enjoy income and asset polarization."

However, regarding the unfairness issues arising from the IIAC's regular employment hiring methods (such as all open recruitment or open recruitment with additional points), Kim said, "This is a part that needs to be delicately designed," and admitted, "IIAC did not sufficiently explain (the regular employment conversion plan), and that part is regrettable."

Meanwhile, on the 2nd, the Civic Group for Judicial Exam Preparation Students (Sajunmo) filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission, claiming that the controversy over the IIAC security screening personnel's regular employment conversion is an act of discrimination violating the right to equality.

Sajunmo stated in a press release that day, "The Blue House explained that applying for the IIAC regular employment through open recruitment is not an act of employment discrimination, but this completely fails to understand the desperate feelings of job seekers who want to get even non-regular jobs during the COVID-19 era, regardless of open recruitment for regular positions."

They continued, "The core of this incident is how to resolve the sense of loss and deprivation experienced by young unemployed people who find it difficult to get even non-regular or part-time jobs during the COVID-19 era due to the forced and unrefined regular employment conversion policy," and criticized, "Despite this situation, the Blue House and some ruling party figures are making absurd claims that job seekers are being misled by fake news from the media."

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