KEPCO is causing internal strife after asking employees to sign a ‘salary return agreement’ to fund voluntary retirement severance. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — The Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), grappling with a debt of 200 trillion won, is causing internal strife after asking employees to sign a ‘salary return agreement’ to fund voluntary retirement severance.
This move has sparked significant discontent among employees, with some questioning why employee money is being used to finance layoffs.
On January 22, multiple posts regarding KEPCO’s situation appeared on the anonymous workplace community app Blind, accessible only to those verified via their company email.
One KEPCO employee wrote, “KEPCO is doomed. From now on, it should be called the ‘Korea Return Corporation.’ It’s a company that creates severance funds by collecting employees’ money.” The post included a screenshot of a PC screen where employees were asked to sign the ‘salary return agreement’ online.
The button for ‘sign the agreement’ was accompanied by a description stating, “This is to proceed with the consent to return part of the future salary due for the preparation of voluntary retirement severance funds and to overcome the management crisis.”
Another employee commented, “The government, which directed restructuring and voluntary retirement, says to fund it by taking back employees’ wages. This is the reality of a public enterprise.
It seems there’s nothing better than using KEPCO to boost approval ratings. They’re taking away employees’ salaries and cutting jobs… Is this a move towards privatization?”
Netizens reacted with comments like, “In other countries, CEOs and executives start by giving up their salaries to save the company, but in Korea, people at the top keep or increase their salaries while those at the bottom are asked to return and reduce theirs” and “Why pass the burden of management difficulties onto employees?”
According to KEPCO, the ‘salary return agreement’ was open for all employees from January 22 to 26. Industry observers suggest that the decision stems from a lack of funds for voluntary retirement after request for additional funding from the Ministry of Economy and Finance was denied.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
