4 positions to be filled by year-end, including one senior official

6 vacant civil service posts also to be opened to affected workers

[Yonhap]
[Yonhap]

The Overseas Koreans Agency said it will hire additional staff and help connect workers to employment opportunities after 18 employees of the former Overseas Koreans Cooperation Center failed to pass a competitive hiring process triggered by the two organizations' merger.

"As a result of the civil servant career-based hiring process, 18 former Cooperation Center employees did not pass," an agency official said Friday. "We will pursue various measures to ensure employment stability for these individuals and will make every effort to hire or connect all of them to jobs."

The Overseas Koreans Cooperation Center was a public institution established in 2023 following the launch of the Overseas Koreans Agency. It had been responsible for training, scholarship, cultural and exchange programs aimed at strengthening the Korean identity of overseas Koreans and their ties to their homeland.

However, the National Assembly repeatedly raised concerns about overlapping duties between the agency and the center, as well as inefficiencies in organizational and budget management. The government subsequently reviewed the matter and consulted with related ministries before proceeding with the merger.

Earlier, the agency had also clarified that the decision to absorb the Cooperation Center was not made abruptly at the direction of President Lee Jae-myung.

The merger raised particular concern about the possibility of workers failing to make the transition, given that it involved a change in status from employees of a public institution to civil servants — a shift that made a competitive hiring process unavoidable. While mergers between other public institutions typically guarantee employment continuity, Cooperation Center staff had to go through formal civil servant hiring procedures because their employment status was changing.

To bring former Cooperation Center staff into the agency, a career-based competitive hiring process was launched in July, and the results of the interview stage were announced Friday.

Of the 37 Cooperation Center employees who applied, 19 passed while 18 did not.

Going forward, the agency plans to provide additional hiring opportunities and financial support to the workers who did not pass.

The agency itself will hire four additional people by year-end: one secretary-level senior official, one specialist contract worker at Grade B, and two general fixed-term workers at Grade 7. The hiring process is set to begin next month, with appointments targeted before the end of the year.

"The additional hiring will also be conducted in accordance with relevant laws and fair recruitment procedures," the official said. "We plan to set eligibility requirements and preferential conditions in a reasonable manner so that applicants' accumulated work experience and expertise in the overseas Korean affairs field can be put to use."

In addition, the agency said it will work with the National Assembly and related organizations to create hiring opportunities at overseas Korean-related public institutions next year. It is also actively reviewing a plan to establish a new category of specialist civil service posts within the agency and fill them with new hires. The agency also plans to open its six currently vacant civil service posts to eligible candidates among the affected workers.

"The creation of public institution positions in 2027 and the establishment of specialist civil service posts will require additional headcount and personnel budget allocations, and are contingent on consultations with the National Assembly, budget authorities and related agencies, as well as securing the necessary funding," the official added.

The agency is also moving to provide financial support to those who did not pass, and is actively consulting with related agencies on paying them honorary retirement allowances and early retirement benefits.

Meanwhile, the agency said candidates who passed Friday's career-based hiring process will undergo background checks and other necessary procedures before being appointed next month.


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