Seoul Gangseo-gu Expands Application of Active Administration Immunity System

A system that exempts or reduces liability when a public official makes partial procedural errors or causes losses while diligently performing duties

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Gangseo-gu, Seoul (Mayor Noh Hyun-song) will relax the exemption criteria for issues arising during the process of its employees actively performing administration for the residents.

To foster a proactive public service culture, the district partially amended the "Seoul Special City Gangseo-gu Proactive Administration Exemption and Disciplinary Actions for Public Officials Regulations," expanding the application of the proactive administration exemption system.

The proactive administration exemption system exempts or reduces responsibility when a public official, while diligently performing their duties, causes partial procedural defects or losses.

Before the amendment, exemption was recognized only if all of the following were met: ▲ the purpose of the task was to promote national or public interest ▲ there was necessity and validity to proceed with the task considering laws and other conditions ▲ the task was handled transparently.

However, the district revised it to "in cases where public officials' actions related to the task were without intent or gross negligence as a result of actively handling tasks for public interest," significantly relaxing the exemption criteria.

Additionally, it was amended to presume no intent or gross negligence if "there is no private interest between the related public official and the task, and there are no significant procedural defects during task handling," enabling employees to actively perform their duties.

Furthermore, the district announced it will operate a pre-consultation system so that employees can work proactively with less burden from audits.

The pre-consultation system allows employees to request consultation with the audit officer in advance when unclear interpretations of related regulations make task performance difficult, receiving opinions beforehand.

Employees who have no private relationship with the task and proceed according to the opinions received through consultation will not face disciplinary actions, allowing them to perform their duties actively.

However, to prevent misuse of the pre-consultation system as a means of simple complaint resolution, passive administration, or evasion of responsibility, cases are excluded if ▲ clearly stipulated by laws, etc. ▲ insufficient review by the applying department ▲ for confirming illegality or unfairness of already made decisions ▲ ongoing or finalized investigations, lawsuits, administrative appeals, or audits.

Mayor Noh Hyun-song said, "We have relaxed the exemption criteria to eliminate passive and unreasonable administration and foster a proactive public service culture," adding, "We will continue efforts to ensure there are no obstacles to actively promoting tasks for the residents."

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