Appointment of Gwangju Seo-gu Health Center Director After 7-Month Vacancy 'Catch-22'

Controversy Over Reappointment of Former Health Center Director Demoted for Abuse of Power

Unavoidable Due to No Applicants in Public Recruitment Amid COVID-19 Situation

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Seo Daeseok, mayor of Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, has found himself in a dilemma over the appointment of the head of Seo-gu Public Health Center.

Despite five rounds of recruitment for the head of the health center, there were no applicants. The only doctor within the district office is a former head of Public Health Center A, who was demoted and transferred due to past abuse of power.

According to Seo-gu on the 21st, with the regular personnel reshuffle scheduled for the 22nd, it is known that former Public Health Center head Manager A will return as the head of Seo-gu Public Health Center.

Manager A was demoted with a severe disciplinary action by Gwangju City in October 2018 for abusive behavior including speaking informally, verbal abuse, and personal insults toward subordinates while serving as head of Seo-gu Public Health Center.

Opinions are divided on this matter, with some viewing the decision as unavoidable given the current COVID-19 situation, while others express concerns about secondary victimization and criticize the appointment as an unreasonable personnel decision that disregards the victims at the time.

Since the previous head of the health center resigned in January, Seo-gu has conducted five public recruitments but received no applicants.

Seo-gu has long struggled to fill the position of health center head.

When Manager A was demoted and transferred due to abuse of power, the position became vacant, and despite several recruitment attempts, no applicants came forward, leaving the post unfilled for some time.

In April 2019, the district office appointed a health center head through an external recruitment process, but the appointee left for another medical institution in less than a year, causing the position to become vacant again.

Given the urgent situation caused by COVID-19, Seo-gu judged that continuing recruitment with uncertain applicant turnout was impractical.

Although Manager A was the perpetrator of serious workplace abuse and received severe disciplinary action, Seo-gu appears to be planning to reappoint him as head of the health center based on his remorse shown through multiple interviews regarding past issues.

A Seo-gu official stated, “He is the only employee with a medical license, which is an essential requirement for the head of the health center, so there was no alternative under the current circumstances,” adding, “The district office will also take measures to prevent recurrence.”

Meanwhile, some voices strongly oppose this, calling the move incomprehensible and demanding that the attempt to reinstate Manager A as head of the health center in this personnel reshuffle be stopped.

The Seo-gu branch of the National Public Officials Labor Union Gwangju Regional Headquarters said in a statement, “Regardless of the reason, forcing the perpetrator and victims to face each other in the same space is unacceptable,” and urged, “Please consider the fear of the victims who have to work together.”

Meanwhile, Seo Daeseok, mayor of Seo-gu, is scheduled to explain the reasons for this personnel reshuffle and measures to prevent recurrence to all employees via an internal broadcast at 5 p.m. on the same day.

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