A man passes by the U.S. Embassy in central Seoul, July 13. / Yonhap



By Choi Ha-young

A student in her 20s, who requested to be identified by the alias Kim Hye-jin, recalled the distress she felt as an intern for the U.S. Embassy in Seoul in 2015, during which she received neither a salary nor even a stipend for transportation and lunch.

"I had to take an additional part-time job after finishing work at the embassy at 5:30 p.m. I barely had any time for myself," Kim told The Korea Times.

"Since I was working for its public affairs department, I was always required to take part in the department's events in the evening. Whenever I returned home late at night, I felt so depressed for losing personal time in addition to not receiving money."

Sometimes, Kim even spent her own money for transportation during business trips and for lunch with organization partners and she had to wait two to three months to be reimbursed.

As an intern, Kim assumed a variety of roles, from translator and photographer to event organizer. Sometimes, she also answered the phones and does basic office tasks. "I applied for the post, aware that it was unpaid. However, it made me think the system was unjust, since my job was more vital than I initially thought," she said.

Another worker, who also requested to be identified as Han Cheol-soo, worked for the U.S. Embassy last year and underwent similar hardships. "Since my parents couldn't afford to give me a stipend, I couldn't help but quit the internship earlier than I had hoped," he said. "I think such an unpaid internship policy is a stumbling block for students from poor families to get equal opportunity."

Two years ago, an intern for the United Nations in Geneva resigned after exposing that he was sleeping in a tent on the shores of Lake Geneva. In an interview, the then-22-year-old David Hyde said he was unable to afford accommodation in the Swiss city, since his position in the international organization was unpaid.

His circumstances were no different from those of another former Seoul intern in her 20s, who requested to be identified as Lee Min-hee. She worked for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) Seoul office in 2013, during which she received no financial compensation from the organization.

"I had a kind of fantasy about working for a renowned international organization. I was so excited to do the internship but later realized this situation was so unjust," Lee said. "We unpaid interns just hoped to receive some stipend, but even an allowance for lunch and transportation expenses was not provided."

Under the supervision of the head of the public relations department, she was tasked with organizing international conferences, making presentation materials and summarizing papers about refugee issues.

In addition to the U.S. Embassy and UNHCR, a renowned foreign news agency hires assistant reporters and pays them only hundreds of thousands of won (less than $1,000) per month. "I haven't signed any contract," a former assistant reporter said on condition of anonymity, demanding not to name the organization for professional reasons.

"When it was so hectic, like in 2015 when the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome struck here, we received 1 million won ($886) per month. We normally received 400,000 won," she said. "Like many others, I seized the opportunity because I was really desperate for a journalism career."





Internship announcement of U.S. Embassy in Seoul / Captured from the embassy website An internship announcement for UNHCR doesn't state the program is unpaid. / Captured from the UNHCR website



‘Enthusiasm payment'

In recent days, Korean firms have avoided hiring unpaid interns in the face of public outcry. For years, the so-called "enthusiasm payment" ― the practice of giving young workers only a meager payment since they are supposedly doing what they are eager to do ― persisted as a serious social problem.

Last week, the administration of the newly elected Moon Jae-in announced that it will abolish internships in Cheong Wa Dae, in an effort to decrease its dependence on temporary employees.

To deter the practice, the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) has also implemented guidelines for organizations that discourages hiring young unpaid workers under the pretext of gaining valuable "training" or "experience." However, the ministry said it has not inspected problematic foreign organizations, thus doesn't have statistics of unpaid interns in those workplaces.

Lawyer Chung Myung-ah from the labor law firm Saenal was surprised to hear about the rampant unpaid labor practices at U.N. organizations, embassies and global media companies. "Such circumstances would be unimaginable if they were domestic companies," Chung said.

Since opportunities to gain work experience in international organizations and companies are rare, young people are easily attracted to such internships, even when unpaid. Kim, who used to work at the U.S. Embassy, said: "Students cannot help but apply for the unpaid internships, because they exist."

Rep. Lee Jeong-mi, Justice Party chairwoman and member of the National Assembly Environmental and Labor Committee, urged MOEL to look closely into these blind spots. "There should be no exceptions to the employers' duty to pay for labor, and diplomatic immunity should not be a tool to justify the practice of enthusiasm payment," Lee said.

"The ministry should be more proactive in determining whether the interns are actually providing a workforce to an organization. The young are driven to the unpaid posts to survive in the fierce job search competition. Who would work for free otherwise?"

Legal dispute

Legal experts and lawyers specializing in labor issues told The Korea Times that such jobs are considered "de facto labor" according to MOEL's definition of labor. According to multiple judicial precedents, "Those who work at a specific workplace during a fixed period of time and follow a superior's direction" are likely to be recognized as staffers.

"Even though they are called interns or assistants, they fall into the category of workers if they are virtually carrying out their duties in a fixed workplace," MOEL labor supervisor Oh Jong-tae said. "Theoretically, those unpaid interns can submit a petition to a regional office of the labor ministry to call for an inspection of an organization and claim unpaid wages. If violations of the Labor Standard Act are detected in the process, supported by evidence, they can technically file a lawsuit against employers."

The foreign nationality of organizations does not guarantee their impunity. According to Article 28 of the Republic of Korea's Private International Law, foreign governmental bodies based in Seoul should respect local labor laws.

A Supreme Court precedent made in Dec. 17, 1998, stipulated that a Korean judiciary can exercise its jurisdiction over a U.S. governmental organization that was hiring Korean workers. In addition, MOEL's administrative interpretation made in 2014 said workplaces operating here as a branch of foreign companies are subject to the Labor Standard Act.

Asked about the legal basis for its unpaid internship program, the UNHCR's senior public information associate, Heinn Shin, cited a "U.N. resolution passed by U.N. membership states including South Korea in 1997."

The resolution, entitled "Gratis personnel provided by Governments and other entities," states that "the use of gratis personnel, other than those performing supplementary activities, should be on exceptional and temporary basis" and "gratis personnel are not a substitute for staff."

Further, the resolution doesn't ensure the program's legality. Generally, a U.N. resolution is not considered international law, and domestic laws have precedence over international laws, according to the Korea Center for United Nations Human Rights Policy, a local civic group. Unlike treaties between two countries that are ratified by a legislative body, a resolution is more like a recommendation.

The Korea Times made inquiries to the U.S. Embassy and UNHCR about the number of unpaid interns working for them. The embassy's spokesman has not provided the figure for interns, citing "security reasons," and as of Monday morning has not provided an answer about the legal basis of the embassy's internship program.

Meanwhile, the UNHCR said it has five to 10 interns depending on different events and projects, along with 50 staff members. MOEL's guidelines recommend employers not hire interns that exceed 10 percent of total employees.