“Personally hand out the visitor’s pass for outside vehicles,” Resident representative forces security guard to stand under the scorching sun

A, a security guard of a large apartment complex in Incheon, stands in front of a barrier gate to check the visitor’s vehicle on July 26. Kim Song-yi

The scene was the entrance of a large apartment complex in Namdong-gu, Incheon at 6 p.m. July 26, when temperatures exceeded 30ºC. A, a security guard, was standing next to a barrier gate in a lane “for visitors.” Each time a visitor’s vehicle approached the gate, A lowered his head toward the driver’s seat and recorded the purpose of the visit and the apartment the driver was visiting, along with the license plate number. When the line of cars grew long, A’s hands were busy as they handed out the visitor’s pass. A was caught in the heat released by the vehicles of visitors and residents for a full hour before he was replaced by another security guard wearing the same uniform.

“They say we have to do this because there are many outside vehicles, but honestly, I think it’s just a formality. We just do it because the people at the top tell us to.” This was what A said when the reporter asked why they began handing out handwritten visitor’s passes at 5 p.m. when they checked the visitors through the intercom connected to the barrier gate at 2:30 p.m.—the time the reporter entered the apartment complex.

The “people at the top” A referred to were the resident representatives. When there was a shortage of parking space due to an increasing number of vehicles driven by visitors of the apartment complex, the resident representative instructed the security guards to personally write down information on the visitor’s pass. Thus the security guards of this apartment complex began handing out handwritten visitor’s passes during morning and evening rush hour: 7:30a.m.-8:30 a.m. and 5p.m.-8p.m. They do this every day except on days when it rains or snows.

The security guards and residents say that handing out handwritten visitor’s passes is not much different from using the intercom, since the security guard does not call to confirm the information with the apartment that the visitor claims to be visiting. A said, “The drivers think it is bothersome, and when the traffic light changes, it could lead to a long line of cars, so it is hard to ask all the details about their visit.”

Bak (36), a resident who has lived in the apartment complex for eight years, said, “I don’t know if we have a lot of visiting vehicles at eight in the morning.” She also said, “I can’t understand why we need the security guards to stand in such a narrow space between the lanes where cars pass on both sides.” Bak continued and said, “When they filed a complaint at the local employment and labor administration, I heard that the apartment management office said they wouldn’t have the security guards stand outside until August 5, since it was hot. But they were out there on July 20, when a heatwave warning was issued.”

“We have to do what they tell us to do, so we can’t voice our opinion,” said B, another security guard, who was helping with the traffic signal at the crossing in front of the apartment entrance that same day. When the lights turned green at a pedestrian crossing, B held a red traffic stick and stood in front of the vehicles that had come to a halt. B stood in the shades cast by the trees to escape the sun for a moment. He pointed to A and said, “Still, we’re okay. He (standing between the cars) is probably having a really tough time.”