Haenam-gun Receives Minister of the Interior and Safety Award at Dasan Mokmin Awards

Established as the flagship brand of 'Integrity' military administration, enhancing residents' trust
Effective 'Mokmin' administration policies improving citizens' lives
County Governor Myeong Hyun-gwan declares unpaid service to solidify the integr

Haenam County held a Clean Government Pledge Rally last year at the county office square. (Photo by Haenam County)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Hyun] Haenam-gun, Jeollanam-do (Myeong Hyun-gwan) announced on the 20th that it will receive the Minister of the Interior and Safety Award in the Dasan Mokmin Award judging hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and Naeil Newspaper.

Now in its 12th year, the Dasan Mokmin Award is given to basic local governments that best embody the spirit of Mokmin?self-discipline (律己), public service (奉公), and love for the people (愛民)?as written by Dasan Jeong Yak-yong, in the field of local autonomy.

Through a rigorous evaluation process lasting over two months, including extensive document reviews via media and civic organization networks, confidential on-site inspections, and in-depth interviews, only one local government is selected from each city, county, and district. This award is recognized for its high credibility and is known as the most coveted award among local governments.

In Jeollanam-do, this is the first time in nine years since winning the award in the 3rd edition. Along with a special grant of 100 million KRW from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, a prize of 10 million KRW will be awarded. The award ceremony will be held on the 19th of next month at the Government Sejong Convention Center in Sejong City.

In particular, in the self-discipline category evaluating integrity, Haenam-gun received high praise for its noticeably improved clean administration and transformation into an organization free from corruption since the launch of the 7th local government.

Haenam-gun, Jeollanam-do, announced on the 20th that its integrity rating in the evaluation conducted by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission improved from grade 3 in 2017 to grade 2 for two consecutive years in 2018 and 2019, coinciding with the start of the 7th local government.

The evaluation score, which was 7.66 in 2017, steadily increased to 8.10 in 2018 and 8.53 in 2019. In the categories of bribery, entertainment, and provision of conveniences, both internal and external evaluations received perfect scores of 10 points, achieving remarkable integrity results.

The rise in Haenam-gun’s integrity is interpreted as a result of the continuous emphasis on integrity and innovation since the inauguration of Mayor Myeong Hyun-gwan in the 7th local government, which has driven changes in the public service community.

Mayor Myeong Hyun-gwan pledged to operate the county administration based on the three principles of fairness, openness, and equity, and publicly declared both internally and externally that corrupt acts such as personnel solicitation and bribery by public officials would be severely punished.

Additionally, ‘integrity and innovation’ within the public service have been prioritized as key policy tasks, actively promoting monthly civil satisfaction surveys, integrity broadcasts for senior officials, department-wise rotating education, and one integrity policy per department.

In particular, the mayor’s declaration of unpaid service during his term, returning his monthly salary, is highly regarded as a demonstration of the local government leader’s commitment to leading clean administration.

Mayor Myeong has returned and saved over 165 million KRW in salary to date, with plans to fully return it to the citizens through scholarship funds for nurturing future talents.

Mayor Myeong Hyun-gwan of Haenam-gun said, “With the launch of the 7th local government, 70,000 Haenam citizens and over 1,000 public officials have shared joys and hardships, achieving the precious result of winning the Dasan Mokmin Award Ministerial Award. We will not be complacent and will do our best to improve the quality of life for our citizens and develop the county administration based on the philosophy of Dasan.”

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