Deputy Prime Minister Hong Nam-gi Criticizes 'Iron Rice Bowl Public Institutions': "Zero Top Ratings... Must Guard Against Wasteful Management"

Deputy Prime Minister Hong Holds 6th Public Institution Management Committee Meeting
One Lowest Grade Institution with Innovation Deficiency and Executive Misconduct Violating Government Guidelines

Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister for Economy and Minister of Economy and Finance, is speaking at the 7th Emergency Economic Central Countermeasures Headquarters meeting held on the 19th at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, announced on the 19th that as a result of conducting management evaluations of public institutions, there was not a single institution that received the highest grade of 'Excellent (S)'. Since public institutions are recognized as stable workplaces with guaranteed employment from the public’s perspective, he urged them to take the lead in sharing hardships and to be especially vigilant against reckless management.

Deputy Prime Minister Hong held the 6th Public Institution Management Committee meeting at the Seoul Government Complex annex in the afternoon and made these remarks during his opening statement. He said, "The evaluation grades for each institution, rated on a 6-level scale (S~E), show a distribution almost similar to previous years," adding, "There were no institutions rated as Excellent (S), and one institution received the lowest grade, E, due to violations of government guidelines, misconduct by executives, and insufficient innovation efforts." He further explained, "Institutions where serious accidents occurred, or where ethical management violations and fraudulent acts were confirmed, were definitely penalized."

He also urged special management and caution regarding subcontractors. He emphasized, "Fatal accidents are occurring mainly among subcontractors involved in contracted construction projects," and added, "Going forward, not only public institution employees but also employees of primary and subcontractors must be carefully managed and monitored by the contracting authorities to prevent serious accidents." Furthermore, he stated, "We will firmly respond to unfair acts, misconduct, and any actions that undermine the fairness of management evaluations in public institutions with a zero-tolerance policy."

He also mentioned that each public institution should contribute to overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic and lead the post-COVID era. He said, "Compared to the public, small business owners, self-employed individuals, and companies currently facing management and employment crises, public institutions are stable workplaces with guaranteed employment from the public’s perspective," and urged, "Public institutions should understand the difficulties faced by the public and our economy and take the lead in sharing hardships and overcoming the crisis."

Additionally, he stated, "Public institutions must actively participate as a vanguard through the utilization of new technologies from the 4th Industrial Revolution, digital transformation, and investments in renewable energy and the environment," and insisted, "We must optimize organizational personnel management by reforming the compensation system to be job-centered, improving the utilization of personnel under the wage peak system, and especially be vigilant against recklessness by ensuring orderly increases through personnel reallocation and mid-term personnel planning when additional staffing is necessary."

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