Local Open-Position Public Officials Can Extend Terms Without Exams If Performance Is Excellent

Ministry of the Interior and Safety Encourages Talented Professionals with Expertise and Competitiveness to Join Public Service

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] When fixed-term public officials in open positions managed by local governments demonstrate outstanding performance, they will be able to work without term limits in the future.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced that the amendment to the "Regulations on the Operation of Open Positions and Competitive Positions in Local Governments," which includes this content, passed the Cabinet meeting on the 1st.

Open positions are roles that require expertise or the appointment of qualified candidates from both inside and outside the public sector for efficient policy formulation. Fixed-term public officials are those appointed to work for a set period to handle tasks requiring specialized knowledge, skills, or unique management of appointments.

The amendment establishes grounds for extending the term of fixed-term public officials from the private sector appointed to local government open positions for a certain period without a separate selection process if they demonstrate excellent performance.

Previously, even if the performance of an open public official in a local government was outstanding after five years of appointment, they had to take the selection exam again to extend their term further. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety expects that this amendment will allow the extension of terms for open public officials appointed from the private sector, thereby attracting excellent private talents to public service and increasing their motivation to work.

The amendment also strengthens the function of the selection committee for open positions by allowing the committee to select and recommend even one candidate to the personnel committee if only one qualified candidate is deemed suitable, whereas previously, at least two candidates had to be selected and recommended.

Additionally, the amendment clearly stipulates in the law the criteria and procedures for disqualification, avoidance, and recusals, as well as the quorum and voting requirements for the selection committee meetings, which were previously managed by each local government’s own regulations, thereby ensuring fairness and transparency in the selection exams for open positions.

Lee Jae-gwan, Director of the Local Autonomy and Decentralization Office at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, said, "Considering the trend of expanding private sector recruitment in open positions at local governments, this amendment was prepared to promote performance creation by fixed-term public officials in open positions," adding, "We hope this will be an opportunity to further expand private sector recruitment in local areas."

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