[Reporter’s Notebook] KOGAS’s Excessive ‘Regularization’ Drive During Government Transition

KOGAS to Regularize 1,400 Non-Regular Workers by Year-End
Subsidiary Establishment and Operation Underway for Regularization
Debt Ratio Surpasses 360%, Internal Labor Conflicts Remain Unresolved
Criticism Mounts Over “Forcing Regularization During Power Transition”

Korea Gas Corporation headquarters located in Daegu.
[Photo by Asia Economy DB]

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Jun-hyung] Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS) announced that it will achieve ‘zero non-regular workers’ within this year. The plan involves establishing two subsidiaries to absorb about 1,400 non-regular workers engaged in cleaning, security, and other roles. To this end, KOGAS recently began preparing a system for establishing and operating these subsidiaries. The goal is to complete the practical work within five months and finalize an agreement with the non-regular workers.

If KOGAS successfully completes this plan without any setbacks, it will become the first public enterprise to achieve zero non-regular workers. Other public enterprises that have been at the center of discussions on regularization, such as Incheon International Airport Corporation and the National Health Insurance Service, have only reached ‘agreements’ but actual regularization remains stalled.

The problem lies in KOGAS’s debt ratio, which exceeds 360%. This is more than twice the 160% debt ratio of all public institutions combined. If it were a private company, normal operations would be impossible. Experts have evaluated that it would be difficult even to pay the interest. With about 4,300 employees, if KOGAS absorbs 1,400 non-regular workers, the labor cost burden will inevitably increase, and the debt ratio may also rise.

President Chae Hee-bong of Korea Gas Corporation attended the National Assembly's Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium Enterprises Committee hearing on October 15, 2019, responding to lawmakers' questions regarding the audit of Korea Gas Corporation and others. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Internal conflicts have also not yet been resolved. The second labor union of KOGAS, The KOGAS, holds the position that fairness was excluded from the regularization plan. This is because KOGAS tentatively agreed last November to regularize all non-regular workers without any examination. Right after the tentative agreement, The KOGAS insisted that non-regular workers should take an open competitive recruitment exam and even staged a hunger strike.

There are also criticisms from some quarters that this is an attempt to build achievements at the end of the administration. President Moon Jae-in is about two months away from leaving office, and KOGAS President Chae Hee-bong’s term ends in July. Industry insiders and others view that pushing ahead with regularization while ignoring financial structure during the transition period is an overreach.

Regularization of non-regular workers has been a core policy emphasized since the beginning of the current administration. Yet, the fact that no public institution has succeeded in achieving zero non-regular workers over the past five years is for good reasons. In this context, the drive for regularization at the end of the term is difficult to understand.

Cooperation is the foundation of politics that the public desires. Criticism of ‘parachute appointments and entrenchment’ is growing toward the end of the administration. To reduce controversy, it is necessary to discuss with the Presidential Transition Committee. To achieve a graceful conclusion, now is the time to demonstrate ‘Moon Jae-in-style cooperation.’

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