They Were So Happy to Get Public Institution Jobs, Then: "I'm Not Coming In Tomorrow"... 'This Place' Saw New Hires Quit in Droves

14 of 22 New Hires at the Korea Association Against Drug Abuse Quit
More Than Half of Departures Were from Rehabilitation Departments... Concerns Over Continuity of Counseling
86% of Departures Cited "Personal Reasons"... Working Conditions Need to Improve

New employees are leaving the Korea Association Against Drug Abuse, which is responsible for counseling and rehabilitation for people with drug addictions. The government is strengthening the foundation for rehabilitation by expanding regional addiction rehabilitation centers, but concerns are growing that counseling and support for social reintegration could be disrupted because experienced staff are not staying in their positions.

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64% of new hires quit within eight months... Some left just four days after starting

According to hiring and departure records submitted by the Korea Association Against Drug Abuse to Heo Jongsik of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee, the association hired 22 employees on July 7, 2025. Seventeen of them were assigned to rehabilitation and counseling-related departments, including regional addiction rehabilitation centers such as the Hamkkehan Georeum Center and the 1342 Yonggi Hangeoreum Center.

However, 14 of those hired (64%) left before completing eight months on the job. In one case, an employee at the 1342 Center, which operates a 24-hour drug counseling hotline, left the day after starting work. An employee at the Gyeongnam Hamkkehan Georeum Center also left just four days after starting.

Of the 49 employees who left last year, including contract workers, 35 (71%) resigned within a year of joining. This year, too, seven of the 27 employees who had left by August quit within three months of starting, according to the records.

More than half of departures were from rehabilitation departments... Concerns over continuity of counseling

Departures were concentrated in rehabilitation departments that directly support people with addictions through counseling and social reintegration. Of the 49 employees who left last year, 29 (59%) worked in rehabilitation-related departments, including the Hamkkehan Georeum Center and the Addiction Rehabilitation Team. From January through August this year, 15 of the 27 employees who left (56%) had worked in rehabilitation departments.

A similar pattern emerged in 2024. Of the eight employees who joined on September 23, six of the seven new full-time employees assigned to rehabilitation departments left, and three of them left before completing even two months with the organization.

Rehabilitation for drug addiction involves building trust with people with addictions and providing long-term support through counseling, case management, and social reintegration. Frequent changes in staff make it difficult to build up expertise in the field. People undergoing rehabilitation may also have to switch counselors repeatedly, which could undermine continuity of support.

86% of departures attributed to "personal reasons"... Calls for better working conditions

The difficulty of identifying why employees leave has also been cited as a problem. Among the 49 employees who left last year, 42 (86%) had their reason for leaving recorded only as "personal reasons." It is therefore difficult to determine specifically which factors, such as emotional labor, pay, and shift work, contributed to their early departures.

In 2024, the government designated the Korea Association Against Drug Abuse as a public institution and expanded the number of regional addiction rehabilitation centers, including the Hamkkehan Georeum Center, from three to 17. However, critics say that if stable working conditions for staff in the field do not keep pace with the expansion of rehabilitation infrastructure, the effectiveness of the policy could be limited.

Assemblyman Heo Jongsik said, "It is difficult to build a proper rehabilitation system when more than half of the employees who start on the same day leave before completing even a year. The association and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety should conduct a comprehensive investigation into the reasons for departures and, based on the findings, develop effective measures to improve working conditions, including pay, work schedules, and psychological support."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.