United Nations Public Service Awards Case Studies

The Republic of Korea is one of the main labor-receiving countries of Asia where approximately 670,000 migrant workers are currently employed, with 50,000 more added each year. These migrant workers are mostly unskilled laborers.

Migrant workers in Korea are mostly from Southeast or West Asia and have wildly differing cultural and language backgrounds. The trouble between Korean employers and migrant workers are mainly caused by these disparities. Generally, the sizes of most companies that hire migrant workers are so small that they don't have proper personnel management systems. Korean employers and their migrant workers face communication barriers due to their language gaps and these difficulties can often exacerbate already contentious situations. One of the main reasons cited for migrant worker maladjustment, conflicts with employers and their frequent changes in employment is the lack of comprehension caused by the language gap.

Surveys conducted by the Human Resources Development Service of Korea (“HRD Korea”) confirmed the significance of the language gap problem. These results also showed how the miscommunication problems further led to illegal alien problems and increased hiring costs for Korean businesses.

Before the initiative, there were no general or public sector services for this problem although NGO volunteers and call centers provided limited interpretation services to migrant workers. Employers, however, did not feel comfortable accessing or requesting the use of NGO services, especially as their provision was neither stable nor sustainable due to the nature of volunteer work. Call center services, usually a three-way system between the employer, the migrant worker and the interpreter, had the flaw of being offered through telecommunication. This meant that contextual details were often lost through interpretation and relay.

To solve conflicts between employers and migrant workers, interpreters would need to not only offer communication abilities but also to arbitrate the conflict, and the existing services were not suitable for this requirement.

Due to the lack of specialized and proper interpretation services for employers and migrant workers, many of their conflicts would be left unresolved, leading to a need for public sector intervention.

What is the initiative about? (the solution)
Most conflicts between employers and migrant workers can be solved with the help of specialized interpretation and consultation because the problems usually arise from miscommunication. The situation prior to the implementation of the initiative, therefore, necessitated a solution, a specialized, low-cost, accessible public-sector solution that could bring about certain improvements. HRD Korea’s answer to this need was the Interpretation Service On the Spot (“iSOS”). This initiative enables both sides, employers and migrant workers, to request the service anytime via phone or the internet. On request, HRD Korea sets up an appointment, taking into consideration, the schedules of both parties. A specialized consultant and an interpreter then visit the workplace to interpret, arbitrate and offer consulting services. Post-resolution, HRD Korea continues to monitor the particular worksite to ensure that similar problems do not recur. Both Korean businesses and migrant workers have better opportunities to solve their problems with the use of the impartial, effective and free public service that is iSOS.

Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
HRD Korea planned and led the initiative. HRD Korea has a Creative Junior Board, an internal community of practice (CoP) organization, whose objective is to devise useful innovations for the agency. In 2008, the board suggested an initiative to support effective communication between Korean employers and migrant workers and after wide-ranging consultation with various employer groups, migrant workers, and NGOs etc., HRD Korea formalized an action plan for iSOS. The key requirement for the initiative's effective implementation was the securing of a suitable number of interpreters. To this end, HRD Korea targeted the rapidly growing pool of proficient immigrants, mostly women who had married into Korea, as the potential interpreters for iSOS. HRD Korea guarantees the use of the service to businesses and migrant workers and regularly holds customer feedback meetings to discuss issues that may require improvement in iSOS. Third-party customer monitors are also utilized to hear objective criticism and receive observation reports on the progress of the initiative.

Describe how and when the initiative was implemented by answering these questions
a. What were the strategies used to implement the initiative? In no more than 500 words, provide a summary of the main objectives and strategies of the initiative, how they were established and by whom.
- Securing of Interpreters At the beginning of the initiative, the volunteer personnel of 1,000 consisted of immigrants and students majoring in the related languages. Afterwards, though, to ensure the service’s specialized and speedy focus, 67 staff interpreters were hired and dispatched to the 12 regional branches of HRD Korea in February of 2010. They provide interpretation services in 6 languages (Vietnamese, Thai, Tagalog, Indonesian, Mongolian and Sinhalese). HRD Korea set strict standards in their hiring, including setting prerequisites of prior experience with migrant worker issues. - Providing Holistic Service Simply providing interpretation service is not enough for smooth arbitration of conflicts. Knowledge and proper comprehension of relevant laws and systems are also necessary. To make the iSOS more effective, HRD Korea staff members accompany the interpreters on their workplace visitations to consult with employers and migrant workers face-to-face, and settle the problems. Any business or migrant worker who has need of iSOS services may submit a request by phone or the internet freely, and phone interpretation services can be supplied immediately in urgent situations. HRD Korea staff also provide administrative support, if necessary. When basic instructions (including machine manuals, safety regulations) are needed by the migrant workers at the workplace, iSOS interpreters also translate the materials. These services are provided free of charge and time and location restraints have rarely been of significant consequence in receiving iSOS services. HRD Korea also offers businesses management training for employing migrant workers.

b. What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
First, previous interpretation support systems and the current needs of Korean employers and migrant workers were analyzed. Through the analysis, HRD Korea established a draft action plan of the initiative and began to take required measures in 2008. A program for the management and utilization of the interpreter pool was devised: Through a national call for volunteers, HRD Korea secured 1,000 interpreters. All regional branches of HRD Korea shared the information of the interpreter pool and at the request of HRD Korea, these volunteers would visit and provide the necessary services. HRD Korea’s budget included monies that minimally compensated the volunteers for their help. This system, however, was not enough as an active and sustainable administration service. Because the personnel of the system consisted of volunteers and most of them had their own jobs, it was sometimes difficult for the interpreters to visit the worksites quickly enough and there were difficulties with schedule-arranging. This became an obstacle for providing effective service, directly leading to a growing need for securing staff interpreters although more complex organization and a larger budget would be essential. With a budget of 40 million KRW (36,000 USD), 6 staff interpreters were dispatched on a trial basis to regional offices where they provided interpretation services for 4 months in 2008. When the trial-run proved successful, HRD Korea was able to request and receive a budget of 2.1 billion KRW (1.9 million USD) from the national government and began setting up proper infrastructure for the initiative in August of 2009. This included a computer system for the integrated management of the program, the hiring of 67 interpreters and dispatching them to 12 regional branches post-training. "iSOS" in its entirety was formally launched in April of 2010.

c. What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
Fundraising was the main obstacle in the realization of iSOS. Because similar, albeit lacking, services were being provided by the private sector, it was very difficult to persuade the national government of the necessity of the initiative. To overcome this problem, HRD Korea had to both show the distinctly positive effects of the initiative and also reduce the costs of the program. A trial-run with 6 staff interpreters was executed, therefore, with the hope of proving the program’s potential and effectiveness. Customer satisfaction was high and performance results were better than expected, giving HRD Korea sufficient support in their arguments to the national governing bodies. Hiring staff interpreters can be quite costly. To maximize the effects and minimize the costs, interpretation services of rarely-requested languages continue to be supplied by volunteers. Staff interpreters for iSOS are employed on a part-time basis of 14 hours per week, most of whom are immigrants who married into Korea. These employees have more time to tend to their families or additional work as interpreters which has led to widespread satisfaction on the part of the interpreters who retain a sense of creating value in the society, HRD Korea that gets to stay on budget and even the customers of iSOS who benefit from a well-working system.

d. What resources were used for the initiative and what were its key benefits? In no more than 500 words, specify what were the financial, technical and human resources’ costs associated with this initiative. Describe how resources were mobilized
- Financial Resources For the stable implementation of iSOS, HRD Korea secured a budget of 2.1 billion KRW in 2010, from the national government: similar budgets are expected to be procured while demand for the program persists. - Personnel Resources HRD Korea has 24 regional branches nationwide and each branch has a specialized team or staff member in charge of supporting migrant workers and their employers. The staff is trained in relevant laws and takes part as mediators of conflicts between employers and migrant workers. With consideration for the available budget and regional demand, 67 staff interpreters have been dispatched to 12 branches. -Electronic Resources Requests for interpretation services are mostly made by phone: A preliminary consultation is followed by a visitation arrangement. HRD Korea also developed and expanded the range of utilized computer software for more efficient management and registration of the service.

Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
Movement of labor across borders is expected to accelerate globally. In this respect, problems and conflicts due to language gaps will persists and multiply and the consequent demand for interpretation services will increase accordingly. Unfortunately, interpretation services can be a costly burden to businesses and migrant workers who desperately need a mediating presence. That is why services such as interpretation, translation and consultation should be provided to migrant workers and other socially vulnerable people by the public sector. For smooth social integration with immigrants in a multicultural society, public services should expand the range of services offered to boost interaction and to settle conflicts. Conflicts between migrant workers and natives, especially their employers are becoming considerable social issues in many countries. In general, better assimilation by the migrant workers is most stringently encouraged as a solution. But the time that needs to be invested for this answer is often lengthy. This is why services such as iSOS need to be provided in conjunction with better language training of employees for a more active and direct method of resolution. Host countries usually already operate government supported centers or organizations for migrant workers. If these centers also have services like iSOS, the quality of their contributions to the greater society will dramatically improve.

What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
Surveys regularly conducted by HRD Korea show that iSOS customers – Korean employers and migrant workers – were satisfied with the service in mediating and solving their conflicts. In some cases, iSOS resolutions were even followed by higher worker productivity. Staff interpreters were also able to take pride in their tangible contributions to Korean society and the economy and in the development of their own skills as professionals


Institution Name:		Human Resources Development Service of Korea
Institution Type:		Public Organization
Contact Person:		Ho-yoeng Choi
Title:		Manager of Employment Planning Team
Telephone/ Fax:		82-2-3271-9421
Institution's / Project's Website:		82-2-3271-9470
E-mail:		hopari@gmail.com
Address:		370-4 Gongduck-dong, Mapo-gu
Postal Code:		121-757
City:		Seoul
State/Province:
Country:

The Problem

Solution and Key Benefits

Actors and Stakeholders

(a) Strategies

(b) Implementation

(c) Overcoming Obstacles

(d) Use of Resources

Sustainability and Transferability

Lessons Learned

Contact Information