Choi Young-hwan, Gwangju City Council Member, Says Formal 'Employee of the Month' System Needs Improvement

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City’s ‘Employee of the Month’ program, implemented during the 7th local government administration, has been criticized for being operated in a formalistic manner, highlighting the need for system improvements.

Choi Young-hwan, a member of the Gwangju Metropolitan Council (Democratic Party, proportional representation), stated during the Audit Committee’s administrative audit on the 4th, “The Audit Committee, which should conduct fair and transparent audit administration, failed to properly screen the Employee of the Month,” and added, “It is betraying the trust of public officials who quietly do their best in their work.”

First launched in August 2018, the ‘Employee of the Month’ program awards Gwangju city officials who perform their duties creatively and innovatively and achieve results.

Recipients receive a plaque of merit, prize money, and benefits such as preferential treatment in personnel matters. Up to September, 28 employees at the level of Grade 5 administrative officers or below have been honored.

The Employee of the Month candidates are recommended by each department head after internal screening and submit recommendation letters to the Audit Committee.

The Audit Committee’s preliminary screening committee, composed of up to nine members, reviews the submitted documents and selects candidates within the top three ranks to be further evaluated by the final screening committee.

Councilman Choi Young-hwan explained, “The Audit Committee, while operating the Employee of the Month system, was found to have not properly verified the documents submitted by each department,” and added, “The evaluation focused only on performance, lowering the importance of service and integrity, which are fundamental duties of public officials.”

Choi also said, “Among the materials submitted to me by the Audit Committee, there were two cases of self-investigation where the individual investigated their own achievements, and there were instances where subordinates evaluated the achievements of their superiors,” and noted, “Two public officials who submitted recommendation letters with the same achievements and tasks but with different periods were both selected as Employees of the Month.”

In response, Lee Gap-jae, Chairperson of the Audit Committee, promised, “We will take measures to prevent the recurrence of such issues in the future,” and pledged, “We will expand the program not only to business departments but also to support departments.”

Councilman Choi Young-hwan stated, “The purpose of the award will shine only when public officials recognized by everyone receive it,” and added, “I will take the lead in improving the system so that all public officials can receive fair and objective evaluations.”

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