Daejeon City Fully Suspends Personnel Exchanges with Jung-gu Office... Conflict Intensifies over Deputy District Mayor Appointment

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Daejeon City has decided to completely suspend personnel exchanges with Jung-gu Office. The conflict between the two sides, triggered by the issue of the deputy district mayor appointment, has escalated into a full suspension of personnel exchanges.

The city announced on the 6th that it has sent official letters for consultation and requests regarding personnel exchanges of public officials at grade 6 and below between the city and districts, scheduled for the 10th of next month, to four autonomous districts excluding Jung-gu.

Previously, the city and Jung-gu had conflicts related to personnel exchanges. Park Yong-gap, the mayor of Jung-gu, pointed out problems with the convention where the metropolitan government head (Daejeon Mayor) appoints grade 3 public officials belonging to the city hall as deputy district mayors of basic local governments (Jung-gu Office), and insisted on appointing a deputy district mayor from among the grade 4 promoted officials within the district.

On the other hand, the city opposed the appointment of an internal promoted official as deputy district mayor based on the personnel exchange agreement made during the 6th elected term between the city and the five districts. According to the agreement, “Public officials at grade 4 or above shall be appointed based on the recommendation of the district mayor and the willingness of the exchange candidate, with mutual consultation and adjustment considering personnel equity between the city and districts,” the city expressed a negative stance on appointing a deputy district mayor from within Jung-gu Office.

Nevertheless, Jung-gu Office held a personnel committee meeting on the 2nd and forcibly appointed an internal promoted official as deputy district mayor, prompting the city to retaliate by completely suspending personnel exchanges with Jung-gu. The city made it clear that although Jung-gu should conduct personnel exchanges for all ranks based on the personnel agreement, since the deputy district mayor (grade 3) personnel exchange was excluded, it will not engage in personnel exchanges for ranks other than grade 3 as well.

In particular, Mayor Heo sharply criticized Jung-gu at the expanded executive meeting held on the 6th, saying, “I deeply regret that unilateral personnel appointments were made by the basic local government (Jung-gu),” and added, “Personnel exchanges between the city and districts should naturally proceed through mutual agreement and adjustment, considering the overall conditions of both sides.”

However, he drew a clear line regarding the risk of the personnel exchange issue escalating into a political problem. Mayor Heo said, “Personnel exchanges between the city and districts are administrative matters and it is undesirable to interpret them politically,” and “I hope the Deputy Mayor for Administration strictly adheres to principles and responds to personnel exchange issues accordingly.”

It is also reported that the city is considering suspending budget support such as grants in addition to the complete suspension of personnel exchanges with Jung-gu.

Meanwhile, Jung-gu opposes the city’s actions as an overreaction. It maintains that there is a problem with the existing practice of appointing grade 3 public officials belonging to city hall as deputy district mayors and demands that the city reconsider the complete suspension of personnel exchanges.

At the same time, Jung-gu reiterates the problem with the existing practice of appointing grade 3 city hall officials as deputy district mayors and is promoting the advantages of appointing grade 4 officials belonging to the district as deputy district mayors both inside and outside city hall.

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