Tonggongno Im Seongcheol, Head of Gangnam-gu Branch, Proposes "Installation of Thermal Cameras at Community Centers and Government Offices"

Through a post on the union bulletin board, Branch Manager Lim argued that "to alleviate residents' vague anxiety about COVID-19, government offices must complete the installation of thermal cameras, make temperature checks for visitors routine, and strengthen quarantine activities." He insisted that thermal cameras, currently installed only in the district office main building and health center, should be expanded to community centers, industrial complexes, and foundations to instill the belief that government offices are safe.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] "Fortunately, this COVID-19 has a higher transmission rate compared to MERS, which had the highest fatality rate after confirmation in the past, but no deaths have occurred. Moreover, hospitalized patients are being discharged one after another through hospital treatment. Therefore, to alleviate the vague anxiety of residents, government offices should finalize by making it a routine to install thermal cameras and check the temperature of visitors, strengthening quarantine activities."

Seongcheol Lim, head of the Gangnam District branch of the Integrated Public Officials Union, made this claim in a post titled 'Introduction to Public Officials' Vacation Guidelines for Creating a Happy Workplace' on the union bulletin board on the 14th.

Lim said, "I appreciate the hard work of Gangnam District Office employees who are fully dedicated to preventing the spread of the 'Coronavirus-19' that has been unsettling our lives day after day," adding, "Every time new types of flu such as SARS in 2003 and MERS in 2015 occurred, employees were sent unprepared to the brink of death, and this is still being repeated." To reduce anxiety, he proposed that government offices should make it a routine to install thermal cameras and check the temperature of visitors, strengthening quarantine activities to conclude the matter.

He argued that since new infectious diseases are feared to occur every year and various types of flu come every winter, thermal cameras currently installed only in the district office main building or health centers should be expanded to community service centers, public corporations, foundations, etc., to instill the idea that government offices are safe.

Lim requested, "Even if the price is high, please do not skimp on the budget and show the sense to purchase thermal cameras, thermometers, masks, hand sanitizers, etc., as essential items."

He also criticized the outdated practice of the Disaster Safety Division overseeing everything, yet promotional documents and activity performance reports are scattered chaotically across various departments, which even makes him angry.

He said, "I don't know whose idea it was, but I hope managers who consider it a public official's role to conduct promotional visits to businesses to show how public officials work and cause them humiliation will stay away." He added, "Business owners and employees already know better and respond through the media, and since infection means closure, they take care of themselves. What they need is economic support or free quarantine."

He said it is time to realize a dignified Gangnam through practical administration rather than display administration.

He expressed concern, saying he hopes the administration that does not hesitate to mobilize public officials will stop now, as it is already overwhelming to handle the remaining National Assembly election schedule.

Lim introduced the Gangnam District Office vacation system, which allows public officials to spend some time with their families, explaining the vacation system.

The types of leave are broadly annual leave (年暇), sick leave (病暇), official leave (公暇), and special leave (特別休暇).

First, public officials can use 11 days of annual leave if they have worked for more than one month, and 21 days if they have worked for more than six years. New public officials can also use leave during the probation period, so do not forget to check and use it.

A unique point is that up to 10 days of next year's annual leave can be used in advance depending on the length of service, and it can be carried over and saved within a 10-year range. Although it does not seem common to use annual leave in advance and save it due to compensatory leave, special leave, and the implementation of the five-day workweek, it is good to know that annual leave can be used flexibly like a rubber band.

Also, from this year, using more than 10 days of annual leave is recommended, and if violated, there is a work regulation that may not pay annual leave compensation, which is a concern. He said this is a part where multiple labor unions within the district office should play their role.

Sick leave can be used up to 6 days annually without a hospital certificate, but it is required for sick leave exceeding this or for sick leave of 7 or more consecutive days. Some submit medical certificates or opinions despite the cost, but these are not recognized, so please note.

Official leave must meet the criteria of various laws. Please note that official leave does not apply to second examinations such as various qualification exams, re-examinations, or confirmation tests, and labor union activities are not allowed to use official leave except for collective bargaining, collective agreement conclusion, and delegate meetings.

Finally, he introduced special leave. Notably, a reading and learning leave is provided to encourage employees' idea generation and mental refreshment.

You might have thought reading leave requires a book report, right? For those who like writing, a book report is preferred, and for those who do not, it can be substituted with Seoul City's U-Knowledge Travel program.

The leave period is 2 days and can be used in connection with general annual leave such as holidays and summer vacation. If you study 10 knowledge travel episodes under 10 minutes each, you get 1 day of annual leave, so please actively utilize it.

There have been changes in special leave for childbirth and death among congratulatory and condolence leaves. One day of special leave can be used for childbirth of a child or the child's spouse, and the death leave period has been changed from 3 days to 5 days.

Female public officials can use a total of 10 days of paid leave during pregnancy, and if a disaster occurs with a doctor's certificate attached, psychological treatment leave of up to 3 days is also granted.

Public officials with children in high school or below can use 2 days of child care leave for one child and 3 days for two or more children.

In addition, compensatory leave for emergency work is provided as compensation for holiday work, and one can choose between compensatory leave and overtime pay, so please do not misunderstand.

Lim concluded, "The 2020 activity goals of the Integrated Labor Union Gangnam District branch, such as interdepartmental work coordination for efficient work processing, adjustment of part-time wages, promotion of street flag raising services on main roads, establishment of a computer system to share various disaster situations with employees, and a 15% increase in multi-faceted evaluations, are progressing well," and asked, "Please take an interest and watch for changes in the Gangnam District Office organizational culture for the better."

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