Suncheon City Public Officials Labor Union Releases Controversial Survey on Second Half City Council

Suncheon City Council, 55% Responded to Experiencing 'Gapjil'...
39% Responded to Requests for Favoritism or Special Treatment...
Appeared in Order of Authoritarianism, Lack of Expertise, and Poor Communication

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Hyung-kwon] The Suncheon City Branch of the National Public Officials Labor Union (Branch Chief Lee Young-hee) conducted a survey among its members to understand perceptions and the actual conditions of local councils, and disclosed the results on the 18th.

The main survey topics included the operation of the Suncheon City Council, perceptions of council activities, instances of abuse of power by council members, measures to eradicate misconduct and corruption, and expectations for the council. Out of approximately 1,100 union members, 662 participated in the survey, representing a 60% response rate. This indicates that an accurate assessment was made through the vivid voices of public officials who closely interact with Suncheon city council members.

▶ Regarding trust in local councils, 27% of respondents answered negatively, stating they ‘do not trust’ the council, while only 15% responded positively with ‘trust,’ showing that negative evaluations outweighed positive ones.

▶ Qualifications deemed necessary for council members were ranked as follows: democratic communication skills (26%) > anti-authoritarian mindset (22%) > understanding of local autonomy (19%) > morality (15%) > policy proposal ability (10%).

This suggests that communication is hindered due to council members’ sense of authority.

▶ Regarding the operation of the Suncheon City Council in the second half of the year, most respondents rated it as average (64%), but negative responses of ‘poor performance’ (21%) exceeded positive responses of ‘good performance’ (15%), again showing a higher negative evaluation.

The reasons for poor performance were ranked as authoritarian attitude (35%) > lack of expertise (27%) > poor communication (22%) > opposition for the sake of opposition (15%), indicating that the council should focus on anti-authoritarian approaches and enhancing expertise in the latter half of the year.

▶ Regarding council members’ legislative activities, the most common response was ‘average’ (67%), with negative evaluations at 18% and positive evaluations at 15%.

▶ Reasons for dissatisfaction with legislative activities were identified as lack of policy proposal ability (37%) > abuse of power over public officials (36%) > involvement in various vested interests (21%). Positive evaluations of oversight, monitoring of the executive branch, and legislative activities were only 15%, confirming a general perception that local council members are not properly fulfilling their core roles of legislative activity, lawmaking, and executive oversight.

▶ Regarding the reflection of populist budgets by council members, 39% of respondents answered ‘yes,’ while 13% answered ‘no.’

▶ For cases of job-related solicitation or requests for special favors by council members, 39% responded ‘yes,’ which is nearly double the 21% who responded ‘no.’

This reveals that requests for special favors, solicitation, and populist budget allocations by council members still exist.

▶ On the existence of overseas trips for leisure purposes by the city council, 32% answered ‘yes,’ confirming that council members’ trips are still being conducted differently from their original intent.

▶ Regarding abuse of power (‘gapjil’) by council members toward public officials, 55% responded that such abuse exists.

The types of abuse included authoritarian attitudes (34%) > excessive or unnecessary document requests (23%) > involvement in various vested interests (20%) > repeated demands for unprocessable complaints (15%).

Examples of excessive or unnecessary document requests included duplicate requests by different council members, retaliatory requests when demands were not met, and excessive requests without clear focus, causing difficulties for public officials.

Meanwhile, to resolve council members’ abuse of power, respondents preferred protest through the labor union (43%) and self-purification efforts (39%) > public problem-solving through civic organizations and external actions (17%).

▶ Regarding responsibility for misconduct and corruption, respondents ranked the following measures: voluntary resignation from office by the member (34%) > expulsion through the council (29%) > disciplinary action by the ethics committee (22%) > public apology to local constituents (15%). This indicates a demand for council self-purification efforts and personal accountability by members.

▶ On the handling of requests related to livelihood issues by National Assemblyman So Byung-chul of the Democratic Party, 89% responded that the handling was inappropriate, while only 7% said ‘no problem.’

Other opinions mentioned immature approaches such as unilateral dumping or authoritarian handling without prior deliberation or review on various livelihood issues.

▶ Regarding the city’s emergency disaster relief fund payment amid the COVID-19 situation, 60% supported it, while 26% opposed. Among supporters, 77% cited regional economic recovery as the main reason, while opponents cited weak economic effects (73%) and fiscal deterioration (24%).

▶ On improvements needed in the Suncheon City Council’s work reports, budget reviews, and ordinance enactment/amendment processes, respondents pointed out that every temporary session is conducted like a work report session, with many administrative wastes caused by aggressive questioning and unreasonable demands.

Frequent retaliatory excessive document requests due to vested interest involvement in budget demands and a lack of objective understanding of issues were cited as major communication difficulties.

▶ In some ordinance amendments, there were cases where a few council members led opposition without overall consensus among council members, indicating a need for improvement in democratic council operations. Particularly, respondents expressed expectations for council operations and legislative activities where policy alternatives are proposed.

▶ Expectations for local council members included refraining from unnecessary and excessive document requests, avoiding disrespectful or dismissive remarks, abandoning authoritarian attitudes and striving for smooth communication, refraining from involvement in various vested interests and maintaining ethical awareness, avoiding opposition for the sake of opposing the executive branch, proposing reasonable alternatives for high-quality legislative activities, and restraining from excessive infringement on executive authority beyond the council’s functions and roles.

Additionally, regarding “some cases of misconduct and unfair cases involving council members have been reported,” Asia Economy plans to cover these in follow-up articles.

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