'Marijuana Fever' National Pension Service Launches High-Intensity Reform Efforts

Strengthening New Employee Personality Tests
and Requiring Executives to Submit 'Integrity Pledge'

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] The National Pension Service (NPS) announced a high-intensity reform plan on the 23rd to restore public trust. It has been 96 days since the NPS faced turmoil over the 'marijuana smoking incident' involving four employees of the Fund Management Headquarters, and in September, the NPS promised to prepare reform measures.

Kim Yong-jin, Chairman of the National Pension Service (photo), first plans to improve the recruitment process. In addition to the existing expertise verification, a reputation check through an external professional agency will be newly introduced. Personality tests will be strengthened during new employee recruitment, and the results will be used in interviews. The period for public service ethics education will also be extended.

To establish public service discipline and demonstrate leadership by executives, including Chairman Kim, executives at the level of branch managers and above are required to submit a 'Integrity Pledge' committing to accept any disciplinary action in case of misconduct. Furthermore, not only the wrongdoers but also their department heads will be held jointly responsible. Compliance inspections will be strengthened in high-risk areas such as fund-related contracts, and a dedicated ethics management department will be established to reinforce a multi-layered inspection system.

The principle of zero tolerance will be applied without exception to misconduct that damages public trust. For the six major types of misconduct (sexual crimes, acceptance of money or entertainment, embezzlement or misappropriation of public funds, recruitment fraud, drugs, and drunk driving), severe cases will be subject to strong sanctions such as dismissal or higher, even for a single violation.

Measures to strengthen monitoring functions through organizational restructuring have also been prepared. Disciplinary results will be transparently disclosed both internally and externally, and restrictions on promotions and performance bonuses for those disciplined will be tightened.

Chairman Kim said, "We will register dismissed employees for misconduct in the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission's 'Public Integrity e-System' and strengthen reemployment monitoring to ensure that misconduct is absolutely not tolerated and that this awareness becomes common sense within the organization." He added, "All NPS employees will wholeheartedly implement the reform measures to become a trusted pension institution."

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