[6.3 Election] Min Hyungbae: "POSCO's S Group Creates a 'Second Class of Non-Regular Workers' by Circumventing Supreme Court Ruling"

“Wages at Only 60% of Regular Employees”
Special Labor Inspection Urged
“Criticism of Worker Classification and Fueling Intra-Workforce Conflict”

POSCO's introduction of a new employment category called the "S Group" as part of its direct employment initiative has come under criticism from the election committee of Min Hyungbae, candidate for Mayor of Gwangju-South Jeolla Metropolitan City. The committee argued that this approach circumvents the intent of the Supreme Court's ruling. The committee also raised concerns over the lower wage structure applied to the new category compared to existing regular employees and urged the Ministry of Employment and Labor to conduct a special labor inspection.

On May 13, the spokesperson's office of Min Hyungbae's campaign committee released a statement, saying, "Following the Supreme Court's ruling on direct employment, POSCO is pushing for direct employment by establishing a new S Group that is different from existing regular positions. This is a way of classifying workers and fueling conflicts within the workforce."

Min Hyungbae, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea (Candidate for Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City). Photo by Yonhap News.

The committee also pointed out that the wage level for the S Group is about 60 percent of that of existing regular employees.

The committee argued, "Although it is called direct employment, in reality, it maintains a structure of discrimination," and added, "A mere formal transition will not resolve the issue and will ultimately result in the creation of a 'second class of non-regular workers.'"

Kim Saemi, spokesperson for the campaign committee, said, "This issue is not a simple labor-management conflict, but a matter of national law enforcement," and emphasized, "The Ministry of Employment and Labor must thoroughly investigate the situation and respond strictly to any violations of the law." Kim further stated, "Circumventing the Supreme Court's ruling is not befitting a global company," and added, "A company's competitiveness depends on how much it respects the value of labor and how it coexists with the local community."

Kim also said, "The rights of local workers are one of the core issues for Gwangju-South Jeolla Metropolitan City," and declared, "We will continue to monitor POSCO from the citizens' perspective until it fulfills its role as a responsible company that coexists with the local community."

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