COVID-19 War and the General Election... What If There Were No Public Officials...?

Public Officials' Efforts Evaluated Amid Sleepless Nights Fighting COVID-19 and Preparing for the 21st General Election

The Queue for Early Voting in the 21st General Election

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] "The reason our country successfully prevented COVID-19 was due to nationwide cooperation and effort, but above all, it was largely because public officials took the lead."

This was a recent comment made to a reporter by a resident A of a district in Seoul.

Another person, B, also asked, "What would have happened if there were no public officials during the COVID-19 war and the preparation for the general election?"

The reporter fully agrees with their statements.

The central government, including President Moon Jae-in and Director Jung Eun-kyung of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, made devoted efforts, and on the ground, public officials who tracked the movements of confirmed COVID-19 patients and chased those who violated self-quarantine orders, often losing sleep, contributed their sweat and hard work. Because of this, South Korea is rightly praised worldwide as a leading country in COVID-19 prevention.

Along with this, the historic 21st general election early voting (October 10-11) took place, and public officials such as employees at community service centers are going through a more difficult time than ever.

The tasks facing public officials do not end there.

From the 16th, after the general election, they also have to work on distributing emergency disaster relief funds, making the efforts of frontline public officials beyond words.

Amid this, the National Integrated Public Officials Labor Union (Chairman Lee Chung-jae, pictured) issued a statement on the 10th, urging the government to prepare and implement measures to boost morale and guarantee rest rights for public officials who are working hard on COVID-19 prevention and control, as well as preparation for the 21st general election.

The Integrated Union stated that since the novel coronavirus emerged in China last year and entered the country earlier this year, the hard work of public officials has been immense. They also emphasized that the efforts of central disaster and medical officials, including those at the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, and local government officials engaged in prevention and quarantine work nationwide cannot be forgotten.

They further noted that tasks such as disaster relief payments to overcome economic difficulties and the preparation and execution of the 21st National Assembly general election inevitably require the hard work of public officials.

The Integrated Union demanded that the government respond carefully to prevent recurrence of cases that lower public officials’ morale, such as cuts to annual leave compensation and controversies over pension liabilities.

A section chief K of a district in Seoul said, "Since the outbreak of COVID-19, I have been working in the office without weekends for several months, and it is very exhausting."

However, public officials also take pride in being recognized as a country praised by nations worldwide amid the global COVID-19 battle.

Although public officials have always devoted themselves to serving citizens in need, their presence shines even more brightly during this national crisis.

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