First Implementation of Active Administration Merit Awards, 30 Selected from 28 Institutions

Selected as the '1st Active Administration Merit Awardee'

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Ministry of Personnel Management announced on the 15th that they have selected 30 public officials from central administrative agencies, local governments, public institutions, and local public corporations as the ‘1st Active Administration Merit Awardees’ for exemplary achievements through active administration.

This award was promoted to firmly establish active administration as a new culture in the public service by providing exceptional rewards to outstanding active public officials. From 28 organizations, 4 received medals, 6 received plaques, 8 received presidential citations, and 12 received prime ministerial citations.

Awardees are granted at least one personnel benefit such as special promotion or salary increase, highest grade performance bonuses, additional points during evaluations, or priority selection for training. Notably, this active administration merit award is significant because the entire process?from candidate recommendation to review and verification?involved public participation, selecting cases with high public resonance.

Since October last year, the Ministry of Personnel Management and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety received a total of 306 nominations from 82 organizations including central ministries, local governments, public institutions, and local public corporations. The public participated in preliminary screening, open public verification, and public perception surveys. Through a strict and fair evaluation process including on-site inspections, 30 final awardees were selected.

Yoo Jeong-min, Secretary at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, addressed the threat to public health caused by the spread of COVID-19 through an innovative attempt at non-face-to-face medical consultations, which had not been previously permitted. Although there was initial opposition from the medical community, active opinion gathering and communication led to consensus, ultimately improving regulations to allow consultations and prescriptions via phone, thereby protecting the health of both the public and medical staff.

Lee Do-gyu, Deputy Director at the Ministry of Science and ICT, devised a plan to broadcast grade-specific educational programs from the Educational Broadcasting System (EBS) for free just ten days before the unprecedented online school opening for elementary, middle, and high schools due to COVID-19. Through pre-consultations on active administration within the ministry and the active administration committee, the paid broadcasting registration process was simplified, enabling rapid live streaming of EBS lectures via interactive TV services over the internet (IPTV) and cable TV. On the school opening day, the viewership rate of EBS through paid broadcasting reached 23.8%, allowing approximately 960,000 students nationwide to engage in remote learning.

Kim Jun-bae, Local Administrative Officer at Dongdaemun District Office in Seoul, resolved the inconvenience residents faced in reporting large waste disposal due to the mandatory purchase and attachment of disposal certificates by establishing an intelligent (smart) disposal management system. Residents can now easily report by registering photos via mobile phones and make payments via bank transfer. Waste disposal locations and amounts are promptly identified and processed without attaching disposal certificates, enhancing convenience. Additionally, the annual cost of producing disposal certificates was reduced by 48 million KRW, and revenue from large waste disposal fees increased from 430 million KRW to 620 million KRW compared to the same period last year, achieving budget savings and increased revenue.

Jeon Hae-cheol, Minister of the Interior and Safety, stated, “In the rapidly changing era of the 4th Industrial Revolution, the creative and challenging work of public officials greatly impacts the lives of citizens and society as a whole. I sincerely thank today’s awardees for their efforts and will do my best to support the establishment of active administration in the public service.”

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