Jin Jinsook: "Red Cross Employee Blood Donation 'Promotion Incentives' Must Be Abolished"

"Clear Violation of Human Rights and Potential Breach of the Blood Management Act"

Jin Jinsook, member of the Democratic Party of Korea.

Jin Jinsook, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea representing Buk-gu Eul in Gwangju, criticized the Korean Red Cross during the National Assembly audit, stating that providing "promotion incentives" for employee blood donations constitutes a clear violation of human rights and could potentially breach the Blood Management Act. On October 22, during the audit, Assemblywoman Jin urged for improvements to the system to ensure that the values of voluntariness and human rights in blood donation are not undermined.

Assemblywoman Jin pointed out that the Korean Red Cross grants special leave for blood donation, offers rewards based on the number of donations, and even gives extra points during promotion evaluations. Article 3 of the current Blood Management Act strictly prohibits receiving or promising monetary, property, or other compensatory benefits in exchange for blood donation, and violations can result in up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 50 million won.

She argued that such incentives undermine the purity of blood donation and can create discrimination among employees. Although the law encourages blood donation and stipulates respect and support for donors, there is no clear legal basis for providing direct compensation for blood donation.

Assemblywoman Jin emphasized, "While it is possible to consider amending the law to raise social awareness of blood donation, reflecting employees' blood donation records in promotion evaluations is a clear form of discrimination and must be abolished immediately." In response, the President of the Korean Red Cross also stated that he "fully agrees with this observation."

Assemblywoman Jin suggested, "Instead of providing incentives such as extra points during promotion evaluations, it is necessary to develop new programs-such as a 'Blood Donation Expansion Ideas Contest'-that encourage voluntary participation, raise social awareness of blood donation, and boost employee morale."

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