Incheon Namdong-gu, Gyeyang-gu, Seo-gu, and Other District Heads' Offices Exceed Standards

Assemblyman Yang Gi-dae: "No Punishment Regulations or Sanctions... Operational Space Regulations Must Also Be Established"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] It has been revealed that 7 out of 243 metropolitan and basic local government heads' offices nationwide violated legal standards.

According to the 'Status of Local Government Heads' Office Area' submitted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to Yang Gi-dae, a member of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee (Democratic Party of Korea, Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi), as of December 31, 2019, seven locations including Gwangjin-gu in Seoul, Namdong-gu, Gyeyang-gu, and Seo-gu in Incheon, the main office of Gwangju Metropolitan City, Dongnae-gu in Busan, and Buk-gu in Ulsan violated legal standards.

In response to controversies over some basic local government heads' luxurious offices, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety revised the Enforcement Decree of the 'Act on the Management of Public Property and Goods' in 2010 to limit metropolitan government heads' offices to 165.3㎡ and basic government heads' offices to 99㎡ or less.

Examining the excess area in order, the figures were ▲Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 10㎡ ▲Namdong-gu, Incheon Metropolitan City 91㎡ ▲Gyeyang-gu, Incheon Metropolitan City 39㎡ ▲Buk-gu, Ulsan Metropolitan City 36㎡ ▲Main office of Gwangju Metropolitan City 19㎡ ▲Dongnae-gu, Busan Metropolitan City 16㎡ ▲Seo-gu, Incheon Metropolitan City 16㎡.

In particular, the local government head of Namdong-gu, Incheon Metropolitan City was found to be using an office approximately twice the standard area.

The offices of the Seoul Mayor and Busan Mayor, which were recently controversial, were found to comply with the standard area. However, there are no separate standards regarding the spatial composition such as bedrooms within the office, so the controversy remains.

Assemblyman Yang Gi-dae said, "There are no punishment regulations or clear sanctions for local governments exceeding the standard office area," and added, "The Ministry of the Interior and Safety should conduct an accurate inspection immediately." He also emphasized, "Since there is controversy over secret rooms within offices, separate regulations need to be established."

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