A person on an electric wheelchair prepares for a job interview at a job and business startup fair at Daejeon City Hall, Oct. 24. Yonhap

People with disabilities still face significant challenges in gaining employment, as companies often opt to bypass their social responsibility by paying fines for not keeping to a government quota of hiring people with disabilities.

According to the country's Act on Welfare of Persons with Disabilities, private employers with 50 or more workers, except those with less than 100 employees, are required to allocate at least 3.1 percent of their positions to people with disabilities, and the ratio is 3.8 percent for state-run companies. A company in violation is fined depending on how far behind the quota it is.

However, many companies pay fines instead of complying with the regulation, and some of the top companies in Korea are no exception, according to data from the Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities (KEAD) under the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

Samsung Electronics tops the list in terms of noncompliance fines, according to Rep. Lee Yong-woo of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea who cited the KEAD data. Last year, the global tech giant hired 2,210 people with disabilities, meeting only 59 percent of its quota of 3,754. Its previous rates were even lower, so for its shortfall between 2019 and 2023, the company paid fines totaling 114.6 billion won ($82.8 million).

Other companies on the top 10 list of fines included Korean Air, Hyundai Motor Company, Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank and Kookmin Bank.

"Large companies like Samsung must come out more rigorously in hiring people with disabilities, rather than merely covering the gap by paying their fines," Lee said.

Rep. Woo Jae-jun of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) criticized luxury brands Prada, Dior, Hermes and Balenciaga for neglecting to hire people with disabilities in their Korean operations. He said during a parliamentary audit on Oct. 22 that they promote ethical values on their websites, but they have done "nearly nothing to support their messages." He added that Prada has never hired a single person with a disability in Korea over the past decade.

"They haven't kept their so-called promises to people with disabilities. They're no better than those selling fake goods," the lawmaker said.

The National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (NACF), the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives and state-run scientific research centers have also been in the hot seat for their lack of inclusivity. Rep. Lee Man-hee of the PPP, pointing out fines paid this year by the NACF's eight subsidiaries including NH NongHyup Bank (13.8 billion won), said the NACF's inclusivity underperformance is "clearly against its key management principles purportedly promoting environmental, social and corporate governance."

Out of nearly 2.6 million registered people with disabilities in Korea as of October 2023, 34 percent were employed, according to the KEAD. The employment rate, however, is significantly low compared to that of the entire population — 63.3 percent. Narrowing down to those with developmental disabilities, the rate shrinks further to 26.2 percent. Those with epilepsy, mental disorders, brain lesions and respiratory disturbances reported the lowest employment rates between 11 percent and 18 percent.

A KEAD official said that when unemployed people with disabilities were asked if the working environments for them in Korea will improve, only 23 percent responded "yes," while 51 percent said "won't change" and 25 percent, "will get worse."

"Employers tend to think people with disabilities in general hold back their profit-making operations and if they do hire them, they feel burdened by thinking they should invest extra efforts into supporting their working conditions. But the Korean government, while enforcing the regulation, provides companies with experts or mechanical aids to support their management of disadvantaged employees," the official said.

"Some companies without enough information find themselves lost even if they try to hire people with disabilities. KEAD provides them with consultations to match them with people with the right skills depending on which disabilities job applicants have. We sometimes make public a list of companies that constantly fail to keep their quotas just to embarrass them. It's our measure to urge them to keep the regulation."

People with disabilities work at a cleaning center inside Hankook & Company's manufacturing plant in Daejeon in this October photo. Courtesy of Hankook & Company

Creating jobs, involvement

Some major companies in the country are setting an example by demonstrating how people with disabilities can work without suffering discrimination, while also promoting their brand.

Food conglomerate SPC is running five Happy Bakery & Cafes nationwide where all 20 baristas, including 16 certified by the Specialty Coffee Association, have disabilities. Beverage and liquor giant Lotte Chilsung operates Green With, a sub-brand for inside workplace sectors dedicated to the disadvantaged group. A cafe at the company's head office in Seoul and dry cleaners at its manufacturing plants in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, and Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, have altogether employed 25 people with disabilities. Instant noodle company Nongshim runs a symphony orchestra of 18 employees with developmental disabilities.

Tire developer Hankook & Company runs a large-scale workplace network for people with disabilities, called Donggrami Partners. Across the company's head office in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, and factories and research labs, 84 people with disabilities are positioned across dry cleaning, bakery, cafe, car wash and administrative sectors. Hyundai Engineering has hired over 50 people with disabilities for administrative work, office cleaning and art projects, while POSCO E&C has been consistently posting open positions exclusively for people with disabilities for administrative support and workplace cleaning purposes.

"We are committed to investing in our disadvantaged employees, ensuring they have safe workplaces and the opportunity to learn through prework training programs, so they can continue working with us in the long term," a Hankook & Company official said.