In the name of being small and efficient the Korean government's drive to cut down on its size seems to be gaining momentum.
The Korea Electric Power Corporation the supplier of more than 96 percent of the nation's electricity has decided to slash its workforce by more than 10 percent of its current total of about 22-thousand workers over the next three years.
The Korea Rail Network Authority announced a 10 percent workforce cut late last month and the Korea Rural Community and Agriculture Corporation is looking to reduce its workforce by 15 percent. And obviously, the labor unions of these public corporations are not embracing the idea.
[Interview : Han Jeoungae, First vice president Federation of Korean Public Trade Unions] "Creating more jobs to perk up the domestic economy is recommended to ride out the economic crisis."
Media reports say other state-run corporations including the Korea Express Corporation and Korea Water Resources Corporation are also considering a 10 percent workforce cut.
Given such moves, experts say, mere downsizing is not going to naturally bring about management efficiency.
According to data filed by the Finance Ministry labor costs don't even make up five percent of the total expenditure for major corporations. Staff organization centering around executive level workers is what is being recommended.
[Interview : Lee Manwoo, Professor Korea University ] "Reform to cut management expenses should be done through making the high-level workforce slender, ridding unnecessary manpower and merging public corporations that have overlapping functions."
Observers say that boosting the public sector's efficiency should not stop at layoffs and that the restructuring should lead to a practical revamping of the organizations.
Kang Chery, Arirang News.
DEC 11, 2008
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Arirang Town
Wednesday, FEB 10, 2010, (KST) 
