[Exclusive] Illegal dispatch of industrial technical personnel… During the investigation, "Act as if you were working"

<Anchor>

People who complete their military service while working for a company instead of going to the military are called industrial technical personnel.

However, when it was revealed that a company had the industrial technical personnel do other jobs that were not permitted, the Military Manpower Administration launched an investigation.

Let's take a look at what reporter Min-Jun Kim covered first, and then continue the story.

<Reporter>

Agricultural venture company A in Gyeonggi-do.

As a leader in the so-called 'smart farm' industry that combines agriculture and information and communication technology, it was also selected as a next-generation unicorn company by the government to achieve a corporate value of KRW 1 trillion.

The Military Manpower Administration launched an investigation into Company A on charges of violating the Military Service Act on the 12th.

Under the current law, industrial technical personnel can only perform 'works that have been approved' by the Military Manpower Administration, but this has been violated.

As a result of receiving and checking the report from the Military Manpower Administration, the four people who were assigned as industrial technical personnel from 2019 in recognition of their expertise in agricultural economy and food did not work at Company A.

While working at Company B, the building next door, I was working in office and sales jobs, not in food production-related jobs designated by the Military Manpower Administration.

The fact that they worked for Company B was also revealed in their employment certificates and pay stubs.

[The Military Manpower Administration official: (The two companies) are clearly different companies if the corporation and the representative are different, and if the documents are different, such as a business registration certificate or a certified copy of the corporate register.]

Last year and last year, when the Military Manpower Administration conducted an investigation, it was also revealed that the industrial technical personnel in the building next door were urgently called and ordered to act as if they were working in Company A.

There were also suspicions that the industrial technical personnel system was abused to reduce labor costs.

An official from Company A, who met with SBS reporters, confessed that the company appears to have used industrial technical personnel to supplement the lack of office manpower.

[Company A official: The salary or annual salary of (industrial technical personnel) is about 24 million won, but in terms of monthly salary, it is about 1.8 million won.

It is very difficult to hire an office worker at the company with this level (this is the situation.)]

Company A told SBS reporter, "In the process of the spin-off of the company last year, there was a lack of placement of industrial technical personnel." "It was not intentional, but it was a violation of the Military Service Act. I admit it,” he explained.

The Military Manpower Administration is reviewing a plan to report Company A and its representative to the police for violating the Military Service Act, and to extend their service to four industrial technical personnel.

(Video coverage: Lee Yong, Video editing: Jeon Min-gyu)

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<Anchor>

Here is reporter Kim Min-jun who covered this content.

[Reporter Min-Jun Kim: First of all, there were some loopholes in the investigation by the Military Manpower Administration.

The Military Manpower Administration visits the company at any time and conducts interviews with middle managers and industrial technical personnel.

This is the process of checking whether industrial technical personnel are performing the work that can be produced legally that they reported to the Military Manpower Administration in the first place.

However, as a result of our coverage, we found that in the field, various methods such as document manipulation were used to escape the surveillance network of the competent ministry.

This was the case with the company we reported on earlier.

Let's hear from the Military Manpower Administration officials and company officials.]

[Military Manpower Administration officials: (The company) manipulated the attendance record and pay stubs as if they were making industrial technical personnel work normally.

Industrial technical personnel also describe in their service statement during the fact-finding investigation as if they were working at a designated establishment in the first place...

.]

[A person from company A: If you hear that an auditor is coming from your office work or sales side, you probably have worn sanitary clothes, sanitary robes, and sanitary caps as a show-off...

.]

[Reporter Minjun Kim: There was another reason.

According to the Military Service Act, industrial technical personnel are obliged to report the company they are working to to the Military Manpower Administration if they engage in work that is not permitted by the Military Manpower Administration.

However, there were practical limits to fulfilling this reporting obligation.

This is because they may be disadvantaged rather than after reporting.

Let's hear the story of a company official again.]

[Company A official: (If fired) The children themselves have to find a company that will accept them, but there is not enough time to even find the company.

If you can't find it, you have to go to public service or enlist again as an active duty soldier.]

[Reporter Min-Jun Kim: In the end, more realistic measures are needed to prevent misuse of industrial technical personnel for the benefit of a specific company.]

(Video editing: Jeon Min-gyu)