A controversy has erupted after NH NongHyup Bank sought to hire a successful candidate from the workplace reserve forces commander selection exam—a position that guarantees permanent employment status—on a "fixed-term" basis. The Ministry of National Defense, which oversees the exam, has said it cannot compel the company under current law, drawing criticism that its response has been complacent.
According to reporting compiled by the Seoul Economic Daily on Monday, NH NongHyup Bank (the workplace reserve forces company commander at the NH Integrated IT Center) has decided to hire the successful candidate from the "78th Reserve Force Management Officer Selection Exam"—delegated by the Defense Ministry and administered by Army Headquarters—as a fixed-term worker rather than a permanent employee starting this year.
In response, Mr. A, who is set to be appointed as the workplace reserve forces company commander at the NH Integrated IT Center, requested permanent employment based on Article 42 (Workplace Status and Rank), Paragraph 1, of the Defense Ministry's "Directive on Personnel Management of Reserve Force Management Officers." But NH NongHyup Bank refused, citing the Defense Ministry's reply to its inquiry.
In its reply to NH NongHyup Bank's inquiry, the Defense Ministry stated, "The Directive on Personnel Management of Reserve Force Management Officers has no external binding force, recommends active cooperation from workplaces, and carries no sanctions under related laws such as the Reserve Forces Act," notifying the bank that there is no obligation to hire on a permanent basis.
The problem, critics say, is that the recruitment notice for the 78th Reserve Force Management Officer selection—a national exam—listed only the positions to be filled, such as the NongHyup Bank company among the vacant workplace reserve forces company commander posts, without specifying key working conditions such as the form of employment, inviting the controversy.
The Directive on Personnel Management of Reserve Force Management Officers stipulates that workplace reserve forces commanders be granted permanent employment status and a regular rank. But the selection notice that candidates first encountered did not specify in detail the form of employment or contract period at the workplace.
The subsequently issued recruitment notice for the workplace reserve forces commander at the NH Integrated IT Center listed the position as "one specialist fixed-term worker" with a work period of 12 months. It specified that the salary level would be determined by NH NongHyup Bank's related regulations. However, it added the condition that renewal of the contract is possible under internal rules.
Directive Specifies Permanent, but Hiring on the Ground Is Fixed-Term
On this, NH NongHyup Bank said, "We changed the hiring method after comprehensively reviewing internal workforce management standards, the efficiency of organizational operations, and related laws," adding, "Through the Defense Ministry's reply to our inquiry via the Online People's Petition (Shinmungo), our bank confirmed that we are not subject to the directive."
The controversy lies in the fact that, while the Defense Ministry directive specifies permanent employment, on the ground fixed-term hiring is possible at the discretion of the company's personnel authority and internal standards. Above all, the issue is that candidates can only confirm the actual form of employment and contract conditions after passing the national selection exam.
The issue of how workplace reserve forces commanders are treated has been raised in the past and remains a source of controversy. While serving as a lawmaker, Defense Minister Ahn Kyu-back argued that workplace reserve forces commanders showed vast disparities in wages and status, and had called on the Defense Ministry for immediate measures to improve their conditions.
The workplace reserve forces commander is a post responsible for managing reserve forces in peacetime and preparing for wartime mobilization. Although affiliated with a workplace, it is a position appointed through a national selection exam and the military's verification procedures. Nevertheless, this controversy has laid bare the unclear hiring information provided to candidates and legal loopholes.
As the controversy grew, the Defense Ministry explained, "The workplace reserve forces commander is a civilian, and the workplace has no obligation to hire on a permanent basis under the Directive on Personnel Management of Reserve Force Management Officers," adding, "However, we explained the intent of Article 42 of the directive to the workplace and requested cooperation in permanent hiring."
An official from the National Assembly's National Defense Committee said, "The controversy arose because the Defense Ministry, through its reply to the inquiry, answered that fixed-term hiring is possible, and to wash its hands of it by saying it cannot compel companies is truly complacent behavior," and pointed out, "Given that the defense minister raised this issue as a lawmaker, the laws must be urgently overhauled so that controversy over the treatment of reserve forces commanders does not arise."
