Some Hyesan residents have been trying to bribe their way into positions as sales clerks at state-run shops, Daily NK has learned.
“Recently, state-run shops in Hyesan are hiring people capable of acquiring items to sell,” a Daily NK source in Yanggang Province told Daily NK on May 26, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons. “People are even paying bribes in an effort to become sales clerks.”
After the Arduous March of the late 1990s, North Korea granted certain business people the right to operate state-run shops as sales staff, with the state collecting a fixed sum from them each month.
Last year, however, the government began taking back the rights vested to these individuals as part of efforts to give the state a leading role in operating the shops. This led to a large number of sales staff at the shops to quit their jobs.
With the government once again granting individuals the right to operate state-run shops to attract sales personnel, this has led to heated competition among potential candidates.
State-run shops in Hyesan used to collect RMB 1,500 to RMB 2,000 (USD 211 – 282) a month from sales staff. The government has reduced this monthly sum, which has led to more interest in the positions, the source said.
For example, one state-run shop in Hyesan is selecting people as sales staff after announcing that it would “collect just RMB 500 (USD 70) a month no matter how much the sales staff earn.” This monthly sum is less than half the RMB 1,200 (USD 168) the shop used to collect in the past.
“That they are taking less money from sales staff also indicates just how bad business has been,” the source said. “Nevertheless, people are investing money to become sales staff in the hope that if trade opens up, they can make money by bringing in goods from China.”
In fact, some Hyesan residents are paying bribes of RMB 5,000 (USD 705) to secure positions at the state-run shops. The money goes into the pockets of the managers of state-run shops and municipal officials in charge of the shops.
People are willing to spend so much money to become sales staff because of expectations surrounding the restart of cross-borde trade. However, some people are concerned that if trade fails to restart, they will have no way to ensure they will be able to cover the cost of the bribes, along with the money they would need to pay the shop each month.
“For now, the authorities are promoting an atmosphere of having everything proceed under state leadership, but things are ultimately returning to how they were,” the source said. “We have to wait and see whether sales staff can recover the sums they are now paying [in bribes] if trade really reopens and they can bring in goods from China.”
The source also explained that the amount of money sales staff must pay to Hyesan’s state-run shops depends on what they end up selling. For example, if a salesperson sells something high-priced, the shop will take more than RMB 800 (USD 112) a month, but if they sell food or similar low-priced item, the shop would take in just RMB 500 (USD 70).
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
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