It has been revealed that Pusan National University Hospital (PNU Hospital) and Pusan National University Dental Hospital (PNU Dental Hospital) have paid a total of 700 million won over the past three years for failing to comply with the mandatory employment rate for the disabled.

According to the "National University Hospital's Failure to Fulfill Mandatory Employment for the Disabled" (2019-2021) received from the Ministry of Education on September 18th, both PNU Hospital and PNU Dental Hospital have paid a total of 757,661 thousand won over the past three years. Gangneung-Wonju National University Dental Hospital was the only one among 14 national university hospitals in all parts across the country that has maintained the employment rate for the disabled.

The "Mandatory Employment System for the Disabled" is a system that requires employers who hire more than 50 workers in the nation, local governments, and at ordinary times to hire a certain percentage of the disabled. The two PNU Hospitals must employ 3.4% of disabled people among their regular workers following the standard of 2021. If they violate this, they must pay employment charges for the disabled under Article 32-2 of the "Employment Promotion and Vocational Rehabilitation Act."

PNU Hospital has never achieved the rate for the past three years. PNU Hospital paid 356,409 thousand won in 2019, 166,051 thousand won in 2020, and 190,588 thousand won in 2021. Last year, the employment ratio was recorded at 2.7% (208 duty employees and 165 employees). The Dental hospital paid 15,573 thousand won in 2019, 26,918 thousand won in 2020, and 2,122 thousand won in 2021. The employment rate last year was 2.29 percent (7 duty employees and 5 employees).

Min Hyung-Bae (Member of the National Assembly, Republic of Korea Education Committee) emphasized, "The repeated criticism of the employment problem for the disabled is due to the complacent perception, 'We are willing to pay.' The employment improvement of the disabled needs to be supported by establishing planned and meticulous measures by related authorities, not just hospitals."

In response, an anonymous official at PNU Hospital said, "Due to the characteristics of hospital duty, the proportion of employees who have to hold professional licenses (doctors, pharmacists, nurses, medical engineers, and so on.) is high. We will try to increase the employment rate by finding various jobs with low physical activity rates and employee referral."

Meanwhile, as the revision to raise the mandatory employment rate passed the plenary session of the National Assembly in June last year, it will be applied at 3.6% this year and 3.8% from 2024.

Reporter Kim Min-Sung 

Translated by Shin Ji-Won