As the government pushes ahead with a second round of public institution relocations out of the Greater Seoul area, employees at agencies under the Ministry of Employment and Labor are growing uneasy over the prospect of being included in the move. No specific targets or timetable have been confirmed, but some workers are already looking for jobs that would let them stay in the metropolitan area.
One employee at a Labor Ministry-affiliated institution, identified only as A, recently applied and interviewed for a mid-career position at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. After hearing that his agency could be among those slated for relocation, he began searching for work that would keep him in Seoul. "Due to personal circumstances, it is difficult for me to work outside Seoul, so I applied to a place where I could stay in the city," he said.
Six public institutions in the Greater Seoul area under the Labor Ministry have been named as candidates for the second round of relocations: the Korea Labor Foundation, the Korea University of Technology and Education's Vocational Competency Assessment Institute, Korea Polytechnics' corporate headquarters, the Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities, the Construction Workers Mutual Aid Association, and the Korea Social Enterprise Promotion Agency. Checks with each institution show that the combined headcount at their metropolitan-area headquarters and corporate offices stands at about 823.
By institution, the Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities, headquartered in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, has the largest headcount at 204. The Construction Workers Mutual Aid Association employs 162 people at its Seoul offices as of end-June, including those on leave replacement. The Korea Labor Foundation in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, has about 140 staff, while Korea Polytechnics' corporate headquarters in Bupyeong, Incheon, counts 123, including those on leave. The Korea University of Technology and Education's Vocational Competency Assessment Institute, separately located in Seoul, employs 104. The Korea Social Enterprise Promotion Agency, headquartered in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, had 90 employees as of end-July. The six institutions together account for 823 workers.
None of these institutions has been formally designated for relocation. Even so, anxiety about the prospect of working outside the capital region is spreading among staff, with some already taking steps to find new jobs.
Each institution also faces its own particular circumstances. Most have branch offices and operational units across the country, but the Korea University of Technology and Education's Vocational Competency Assessment Institute presents a special case: it was established separately from the university's main campus in Cheonan, meaning most of its staff have worked in Seoul from the outset, making the potential disruption especially acute.
The Korea Labor Foundation finds itself in a particularly awkward position. It relocated its headquarters from Mapo, Seoul, to Chungjeong-ro in Seodaemun-gu in May — and in doing so signed a five-year lease to secure favorable rental terms at its new office.
Among staff, there is a growing view that if relocation is unavoidable, Sejong or Daejeon — both easily accessible from the metropolitan area — would be preferable destinations. Either city would ease the burden on employees whose lives are rooted in Greater Seoul, while also facilitating coordination with central government ministries including the Labor Ministry. Sejong is seen as particularly attractive by affiliated agencies given its concentration of central government departments.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, which oversees the second round of public institution relocations, is treading carefully. Speculation had circulated that a relocation plan would be announced on Tuesday, but the ministry denied it. An official from the ministry's Innovation City Development Task Force said consultations with labor unions, agency management, relevant government ministries and local governments were all necessary. "The first round of public institution relocations went through the same process, and the second round must follow the same procedures," the official said.
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