FOR THE past ten years, Yonsei University has paid billions in fines due to their non-compliance with the South Korean government’s disabled person employment requirements. In light of the school’s avoidance of responsibilities, many emphasize Yonsei’s vision of “pursuing social inclusion and serving others under God.” Despite years of controversy, however, the university has yet to make significant changes to its conduct.

Private universities dodging regulations

   The “Employment Promotion and Vocational Rehabilitation for Disabled Person Act” was introduced in 1991 to relieve barriers faced by the disabled community when seeking employment. Aiming to provide additional job opportunities, the policy requires private institutions with more than 50 workers to compose at least 3.1% of their workforce with people with disabilities[1]. Institutions that fail to fulfill the compulsory quota are fined based on the severity of their misconduct, with fines ranging from ₩1.09 million to ₩1.82 million per unhired disabled worker[2].

   Among the fined private educational institutions, Yonsei University has maintained its position at the top of the list for the past five years. The total fine for Yonsei is calculated by summing up the fines paid by the corporation, Sinchon Campus, Mirae Campus, Yonsei Severance Hospital, and Wonju Severance Christian Hospital. Yonsei University paid a total of ₩21.5 billion in fines from 2016 to 2020. This number significantly exceeds the fines paid by all other leading private universities in Korea, including Korea University (₩10.1 billion), Hanyang University (₩8.1 billion), and Konkuk University (₩6.5 billion)[3].

   The failure to fulfill employment quotas is not exclusive to Yonsei. Despite the conception and implementation of the policy, only 22% of 150 private universities in Korea abide by the mandatory employment rate[4]. Moreover, the general trend for the amount of fines paid by private universities has been on an annual rise; private universities have paid a combined total of ₩39 billion in fines as of 2020, a 75% increase from the ₩22.3 billion spent in 2016[5]. Politicians such as Song Ok-ju of the Democratic Party of Korea expressed their concern towards the policy in response to universities’ repeated failure to abide by regulations. Observing the Ministry of Employment and Labor statistics presenting fines paid by private universities, the politician stated that it is a “serious problem for educational institutions to be openly ignoring their obligations instead of setting an example[6]."

Loopholes exploited and systemic barriers overlooked

   Thirty years following the implementation of the employment quota, an alarming number of institutions simply paying the fine rather than hiring more disabled workers demonstrates the system's futility.

   On Dec. 17, 2021, the Ministry of Employment and Labor Minister Ahn Kyung-deok published a list of institutions and companies that did not make adequate efforts to hire disabled workers despite being aware of the remarkably low employment rates. The list identified institutions that fulfilled less than 1.55% of the 3.1% quota and therefore considered “not making minimal efforts to comply with regulations." Large corporations and top business groups, including Citibank Korea, Prada Korea, and Nok-ship-ja (Green Cross Pharma), were mentioned in the said list. More notably, three Yonsei businesses were listed: the Yonsei University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation[7], which only fulfilled 0.23% of the quota, Yonsei University[8], fulfilling 0.88%, and Yonsei University Wonju Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation[9], fulfilling 0.67%[10]. In addition to its place in this most recent 2021 list, Yonsei University was also one of the 19 institutions with over 1,000 workers that stayed on the list for ten consecutive years.

   An array of different circumstances factor into why universities prefer paying the fine rather than fulfilling the quota. "Until now, there have been no active, deliberate efforts to hire disabled individuals," said a representative of Yonsei Mirae Campus' Office of General Affairs in an interview with The Yonsei Annals. While recruitment notices do include information on preferential treatment for disabled applicants, the representative stated that "there are very few applicants from the get-go and even if disabled individuals were to apply, [we] are reluctant to hire them if it is concluded that their disability would interfere with their work." In addition, the Mirae Campus office "has not considered making additional efforts to fulfill the quota, and it is likely that [this trend] will continue to be the case." The Yonsei Sinchon Campus’ Office of Human Resources has declined to comment on the issue.

Demand for change

   South Korea’s largest minority group is people with disabilities, comprising approximately 5.1% of the total population in 2021[11]. Despite the policy’s existence for three decades, systemic barriers faced by the disabled community in the job market remain neglected or unresolved. Only 34.9% of people with disabilities are economically active, compared to 60.9% of the total population[12]. Such stark disparities are noticeable throughout a disabled person’s lifetime, tracing back to the time when they are still in their school uniforms; according to Special Education Statistics released by the Ministry of Education in 2020, the college entrance rate of special education students was 16.6%, compared to the total university entrance rate of 72.5%[13].

   Established in 2015 as an independent body from Yonsei’s Office for Students with Disabilities, the Yonsei Disability Rights Board strives to improve disability rights both on and off-campus. In an interview with the Annals, the Disability Rights Board stated that it is “regretful that the highest educational institution of Korea is turning a blind eye to the problem and trying to 'solve' the problem by paying large sums of money." Highlighting the lack of change in the school’s conduct, the Board added that, “no matter how many different disability rights organizations conduct relevant activities and call for equal rights, the school administration’s indifference makes [them] feel helpless and [their] efforts futile.”

   In response to similar concerns by various other relevant organizations, private institutions cite their large size and the “nature of the work” as justification for their repeated failure to meet Congress-issued requirements. In an interview with the Annals, a representative from the Yonsei Severance Hospital stated that "the nature of the work required in the medical field makes hiring workers with disabilities difficult," and especially with "over 13,000 employees working for the Sinchon Yonsei Medical System, even 3.1% is quite a large number that is challenging to fulfill." Similarly, a representative for the Wonju Severance Hospital stated that "while the hospital is making efforts to understand the policy, it is difficult not to consider the nature of the task and degree of the applicant's disability when hiring." In terms of efforts made to hire workers, the representative stated that "once hired, [the hospital] tries to help disabled employees work for a long time by informing them of existing accommodation policies," and that the hospital is “making efforts at a level similar to those of other institutions.” However, given how Yonsei University was included in the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s list of companies that significantly violated mandatory employment, the Disability Rights Board stated that “the school’s conduct makes it difficult to believe that enough efforts were made over an extended period of time, especially when prior notice was given on the formation of the list." Moreover, the Board added that "the reason for not hiring more disabled staff does not entirely seem to be the 'nature of work' or 'size of the institution',” emphasizing how the school's Disabled Student Support Center had always been suffering from a lack of staffing.

   Some major universities in South Korea are expanding employment opportunities for the disabled community through the establishment of subsidiary companies. Parent companies that find it difficult to directly hire disabled workers due to the nature of the work or other reasons are legally allowed to establish separate, subsidiary businesses to do so. Such businesses must comprise at least 30% of their workforce with disabled employees, and there must be more than ten employees with disabilities[15]. Major South Korean universities, including Konkuk University and Pusan National University (PNU), already manage active subsidiary businesses to fulfill their disability employment quotas; Konkuk University’s brunch cafe Restio, and PNU’s Café M as well as cafe Sum all employ baristas with disabilities[16]. Yonsei University Medical Center has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in March, 2021 with similar intentions[17]. However, MOUs are not legally binding but simply “signal the willingness of the parties to move forward with a contract[18].”

   Irrelevant to potential efforts that may be made to fulfill the quota, the Disability Rights Board shared its concerns over the treatment of disabled employees in Yonsei’s workplaces once hired. The Board shed light on a workplace harassment incident against a partially deaf janitor at Yonsei Severance Hospital workplace that sparked public backlash at the beginning of January, 2022. The worker was exposed to multiple instances of verbal abuse targeting her disability, pressured to pay for over ₩200,000 worth of snacks for colleagues with her credit card, and was offered little to no meaningful assistance from Yonsei despite its acknowledgment of the situation[19]. “This is not the first case of workplace harassment at Severance Hospital, and it was not accidental,” the Board stated. The Board added that “the disabled community ought not to be recognized as subjects who deserve sympathy and special privileges, but as individuals who should evidently be guaranteed equal rights."

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   There is no question that the protection of disability rights remains an important obligation for Yonsei and the greater society. There is also no question that Yonsei's vision does not only include a dedication to prestigious education, but also a commitment to community service, social inclusion, and sustainable engagement. If institutions were willing to voluntarily make accommodations and compromises, paying excessive fines would not have been a problem to begin with. Efforts of disability rights advocates alone have limitations in creating an equitable environment for all. Moving forward, the Disability Rights Board expressed its desires for the discussion around disability rights not to stall at the perfunctory, political level, but rather permeate into daily life to “create a culture where all people with disabilities can enjoy fulfilling, non-discriminatory lives.”

[1] Ministry of Government Legislation

[2] Ministry of Government Legislation

[3] Ministry of Employment and Labor

[4] Ministry of Employment and Labor

[5] Ministry of Employment and Labor

[6] Office of Parliamentarian Song Ok-joo

[7] Yonsei University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation: The managerial body that invests and funds research for Yonsei University (Sinchon Campus) and domestic industries.

[8] Yonsei University: General administration of Yonsei University

[9] Yonsei University Wonju Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation: The Wonju Campus counterpart to the Yonsei University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation.

[10] Ministry of Employment and Labor

[11] Ministry of Health and Welfare

[12] Statistics Korea of the Ministry of Economy and Finance

[13] Ministry of Education

[14] Ministry of Government Legislation

[15] Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities

[16] Yonsei University

[17] Investopedia

[18] JTBC