Public Firms Generous on Employees’ Overseas Trips
By Yoon Ja-young
Staff Reporter
For good welfare and job security, public enterprises have been dream workplaces for college students for many years. Now they have one more reason to be attractive, as they send employees abroad for trips and education each year.
According to public firms around the country, some of them send hundreds of employees abroad for short term training each year.
Though dubbed ``training,'' most of them are overseas trips lasting five to ten days. It may involve visits to related institutions abroad, but the visit is often superficial and more like a vacation. A number of district mayors in Seoul, for example, were criticized as they traveled to Iguassu Falls during their visit to Latin America, which was aimed at learning about city administration in other countries.
KEPCO, for example, sends hundreds of employees on overseas training each year as well as KORAIL, which sent 405 workers abroad. The Korea National Housing Corporation, the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund and the Korea Land Corporation also send over a hundred employees on overseas trips, or training as they call it, paying some millions of won. Those who have contributed to the company or the labor union, or who are soon to retire, are often candidates for such trips.
Some public financial firms showed more generosity when they supported employees in pursuing degrees abroad. They were paying not only for the tuition and other expenses, often up to 50 million won a year, but also regular salaries throughout the graduate course. Some private firms also support employees in pursuing degrees abroad, but few of them continue providing salaries.
The Bank of Korea has 40 employees currently studying abroad, and the Korea Development Bank, which gives around $60,000 annually for tuition and expenses, has sent 21 employees overseas. It has recently been under inspection by the Board of Audit and Inspection, partly because of the overseas training program.
``There seems to be no merit in the public sector now,'' said Hong Yun-a, working for an electronics company. ``Now I understand why seniors at colleges long to work at public enterprises.'' She complained that public enterprises may be using taxpayers' money for generous programs for their employees.