In the past 5 years, 153 people from construction companies have been transferred.
Suspicions of ‘taking care of one’s own family’ involved in recruitment
Controversy is rising as it appears that a large number of Seoul Transportation Corporation executives and employees have been re-employed at subsidiaries. There is criticism that the corporation, which announced a workforce reduction plan to resolve debt exceeding 7 trillion won, is actually encouraging organizational growth by transferring executives and employees to subsidiaries.
According to data received from the Corporation on the 13th by People Power Party lawmaker Kwak Hyang-gi, a member of the Transportation Committee of the Seoul Metropolitan Council, starting in 2020, he transferred to five subsidiaries (Seoul Metro Environment, Seoul Urban Railway Green Environment, Seoul Urban Railway Engineering, Seohae Railway, and GTX-A). There are 153 executives and employees from the construction company currently working there. A total of 36 executives were transferred, with 12 remaining in office. In the case of Gimpo Gold Line Operations, another subsidiary, it was excluded from the tally because it did not submit data on the grounds that the company was scheduled to be liquidated on January 1st of next year.
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By company, Seoul Metro Environment had the largest number of employees at 71. This was followed by 31 people from Seoul Urban Railway Green Environment, 26 people from GTX-A, 20 people from Seoul Urban Railway Engineering, and 5 people from Seohae Railway. In particular, in the case of GTX-A, which was established in October last year, it was confirmed that 3 out of 5 executives were from public construction.
In the hiring process for each subsidiary, many current and former employees of the corporation participated as interviewers, raising suspicions about ‘taking care of one’s own family’. There were 32 current and former executives and employees of the corporation who participated as interviewers for recruitment of subsidiaries. Some interviewer selection criteria are also too subjective, such as ‘person with knowledge or ability’ or ‘person familiar with the practicalities of the job’, raising controversy over fairness.
As of June this year, the corporation’s total debt amounted to 7.0833 trillion won. The corporation is seeking to reduce its workforce by 2,212 people by 2026 as a self-rescue measure to reduce its large-scale debt. In this situation, it is pointed out that the large number of executives and employees moving to subsidiaries is fading the meaning of self-reliance. In relation to this, the corporation announced that it would prepare alternatives to ensure fairness in hiring, such as improving interview standards.
Rep. Kwak emphasized, “We must prevent the construction’s hypertrophy, which involves transferring high-ranking positions to subsidiaries and creating promotion positions, saying that it will even reduce train crews to resolve debt.” He said, “We need to come up with alternatives, such as establishing transparent hiring standards and organizational management for our subsidiaries.”
Reporter Gu Yun-mo iamkym@segye.com
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Source: www.segye.com
