[Opinion] Techno-Doctors

Dr. Jeon Poong-il (63) worked at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute for 36 years and retired two years ago. He is a specialist in the design of nuclear reactors in the Korean light-water reactor business and is a renowned expert who spent 10 years as a bureau director at the International Atomic Energy Agency where he was dispatched. At the moment he is excited about his plan to start working at the venture enterprise GNEC Technology Office, a consultation company on the nuclear power plant design technology, from next week. He owes his excitement to the Techno Doctor project, which links the highly qualified manpower with knowledge on science and technology retired from government-invested research institutions with smaller businesses in need of such knowledge.

The number of small- and medium-sized enterprises that applied for the service when the Ministry of Science and Technology announced the Techno Doctor project was 282, and the number of retired scientists who applied for the chance to make use of their know-how they piled up all their lives was 129.

As a result of the “blind meeting” between them, 79 scientists found new jobs. Their payment is 2.5 million won per month. The government pays 2 million won and the enterprise 0.5 million won. The new workers cannot relax themselves even if they are working again. Their performances are checked after six months and a judgment is made whether their terms will be extended or not. One person can receive government support for three years maximum. Strict management is compulsory as the tax from the nation is spent on the project.

One of the workers of Daewoo Motors who was dismissed during the foreign exchange crisis said after he was re-employed, “When I had to go to noisy places I activated the vibration mode of my mobile phone and hid the phone in my socks. I was always nervous that I might miss the phone call telling me to go back to work.” It is a touching anecdote telling us how desperate for work he was, how difficult it was for him to find work again after the dismissal.

One of the biggest problems in the labor market in Korea is that there is no flexibility in employment. Since the re-employment market is so fragile, it is unlikely that a retired person finds a new job. This makes the workers think dismissal as a death sentence. Since it is too difficult for employers to reduce employment, they tend to avoid employing workers in the first place. The situation of the silver employment is worsening too due to the lack of re-employment market. The labor policy of the government should focus on helping them find new jobs rather than sticking to ideology and slogans. I pray that the workers with new jobs will devote themselves into their passions again with the sense of calling.

Heo Seung-ho, Editorial Writer, tigera@donga.com