Park Won-soon's 10 Years: 'Eogong' Up 45%... Oh Se-hoon Takes Action

1780 Fixed-Term Employees Below Grade 5 Increased...Work Performance Evaluation and Extension Criteria Strengthened
Extension Period Shortened from 5 Years to 2-3 Years...No Extension for Drunk Driving or Sexual Misconduct
City Personnel Regulations Revision to Be Completed by February Next Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government, which actively appointed individuals from civil society during the tenure of the late former Mayor Park Won-soon, is set to strengthen personnel management for so-called 'accidental public officials.' Following the policy of Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who last month took a firm stance against indiscriminate payments of private subsidies and consignment funds to civil society and civic groups, the city plans to undertake a comprehensive overhaul of the management of 'fixed-term public officials' as a follow-up measure.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on the 6th, the city will implement an 'Improvement Plan for the Personnel Management of Fixed-term Public Officials,' focusing on strengthening the appointment management of fixed-term public officials, establishing guidelines for performance evaluation ratings, and reinforcing the review process for extending employment periods.

As of July this year, the number of fixed-term public officials at grade 5 level and below has surged by 45.1% to 1,780 compared to 1,227 in July 2011, ten years ago. The number of general public officials at grade 5 and below increased by 48.6%, from 28,369 at the end of 2010 to 42,163 at the end of last year, according to Ministry of the Interior and Safety statistics. While the increase rates for fixed-term and general public officials are similar, Seoul City judges the system inefficient because the cost of hiring one fixed-term public official could instead hire 1.8 general public officials.

In particular, Seoul City sees the need to improve regulations regarding the extension of employment periods and treatment of fixed-term public officials during former Mayor Park's tenure. Over the past decade, Seoul unified the contract period for fixed-term public officials from '2 years + 2 years + 1 year' to '2 years + 3 years,' and allowed those with outstanding performance to work up to an additional 5 years after the initial 5-year term without going through a public recruitment process. Fixed-term public officials, excluding those in open positions working under these conditions, accounted for 41.6%.

Seoul City explained, "While the recruitment and treatment improvements for fixed-term public officials have continued, there has been insufficient inspection on whether the operation of fixed-term positions is appropriate. Especially, time-selective fixed-term public officials, operated outside the official quota, have sometimes been used as an indirect means to expand departmental personnel, contrary to their intended purpose."

Accordingly, Seoul plans to shorten the extension review period, which is currently every 5 years, to 2-3 years, and to abolish or convert fixed-term positions to general public official positions when necessary. For time-selective fixed-term positions, Seoul will also implement improvement measures such as setting departmental hiring caps to prevent abuse, limiting recruitment to within 10% of each department's quota.

Performance evaluations for fixed-term public officials will also be strengthened starting from the first half of next year. Seoul City will specify the criteria for assigning C and D grades more concretely and require detailed documentation of reasons for grade assignments. The limit on the number of C grades, previously set between 2 to 5 times depending on years of service, will be revised so that if a fixed-term official receives a C grade twice or more during their total employment period, or commits serious disciplinary offenses, bribery, entertainment acceptance, drunk driving, or sexual misconduct, extension will be disallowed. For extensions beyond the initial 5-year term to an additional 5 years, only those with 5 or more S grades during their total employment period will be eligible for extension review.

Seoul City stated, "We will shift the extension and salary determination of fixed-term public officials from a formal review to a substantive one," adding, "We will strengthen internal verification within departments, bureaus, and offices, and decide on extensions through detailed personnel committee deliberations based on the results of the performance evaluation committee meetings."

Meanwhile, Seoul plans to announce the 'Improvement Plan for the Personnel Management of Fixed-term Public Officials,' proceed with legislative notice in November, and complete amendments to the 'Seoul Metropolitan Government Personnel Regulations' by February next year.

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