Gyeonggi Province: "Hwang Gyo-ik Nominee, Open Recruitment Based on Ability"... Rejects Qualification Relaxation

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province recently dismissed claims of 'favoritism' and 'relaxed qualification requirements' regarding the controversy surrounding Hwang Gyo-ik, the nominee for president of the Gyeonggi Tourism Organization, stating that this is the first executive appointment conducted under the 'Merit-Based Open Recruitment' system introduced in 2018.

The Merit-Based Open Recruitment system is a personnel policy introduced by Gyeonggi Province in 2018 following a proposal from the Gyeonggi Provincial Council. It moves away from the rigid and uniform recruitment criteria based on academic background and career history, aiming to select talented individuals with excellent job performance.

According to Gyeonggi Province on the 16th, the previous hiring conditions for heads of public institutions under the province focused on specific career backgrounds such as civil servants or government-affiliated agencies, which exposed the problem of these positions becoming parachute appointments that guarantee retirement security for retired civil servants.

In this context, the Gyeonggi Provincial Council first raised the issue of relaxing hiring qualifications for heads of public institutions in September 2018, after Governor Lee Jae-myung took office, stating that "the hiring standards for public institutions are excessively regulated, making it difficult to recruit competent talent."

Subsequently, the Gyeonggi Tourism Organization finalized revised personnel regulations twice, in December 2018 and November 2019.

The finalized guidelines allow the appointment of presidents who meet the following criteria: ▲ individuals with extensive knowledge and experience in tourism marketing, development, or public enterprises ▲ individuals possessing managerial qualities and character ▲ individuals capable of harmonizing drive, communication, and public interest ▲ individuals with excellent external negotiation skills ▲ individuals with business capabilities oriented toward change and reform.

This represents a significant difference compared to the previous guidelines, which required ▲ over 15 years of civil service experience (at least 8 years in related fields), grade 2 or higher (at least 3 years in related fields), grade 4 or higher (at least 5 years in related fields) ▲ senior executive positions in government-affiliated agencies (at least 5 years in related fields) ▲ senior executive positions in private companies (at least 5 years in related fields) or over 15 years of private sector experience (at least 8 years in related fields) ▲ senior research fellow or associate professor level (at least 3 years of experience) with a doctoral degree (over 12 years of civil or private sector experience, at least 5 years in related fields).

A provincial official explained, "The Merit-Based Open Recruitment was introduced as a personnel policy to expand opportunities for private sector experts with achievements and capabilities by removing excessive restrictions such as degrees and career length." He added, "Public institutions under Gyeonggi Province are currently recruiting outstanding talent through the open recruitment system introduced in 2018."

Furthermore, he stated, "The recent appointment of the new president of the Gyeonggi Tourism Organization also follows these open recruitment conditions," and emphasized, "Claims that the qualification requirements were changed to appoint the president of the Gyeonggi Tourism Organization are not true."

He particularly noted, "Until now, presidents of the Gyeonggi Tourism Organization were parachute appointments typically filled by civil servants or government-affiliated agency veterans, such as former vice ministers or deputy vice ministers of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family." He added, "This time, the new president was appointed through the first open recruitment, which differs from previous presidents with specific government-affiliated agency backgrounds."

Looking at the past presidents of the Gyeonggi Tourism Organization, most were government or provincial officials: the 1st president Kim Jong-min was Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism; the 2nd president Shin Hyun-tae was a special advisor to the leader of the Hannara Party (now the People Power Party); the 3rd president Lim Byung-soo was Deputy Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism; the 4th president Kim Myung-soo was Vice President of Samsung Everland; the 5th president Hwang Joon-gi was Vice Minister of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family; the 6th president Hong Seung-pyo was Chief of Staff to Governor Nam Kyung-pil; the 7th president Lee Sun-myung was Vice Chairman of the Korea Journalists Club; and the 8th president Yoo Dong-gyu was Head of Planning at Seongnam Urban Development Corporation.

Meanwhile, nominee Hwang Gyo-ik is scheduled to be officially appointed in early next month after a personnel hearing at the Gyeonggi Provincial Council at the end of this month.

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