Seoul City Council Passes Historic Resolution Urging Dismissal of Assembly Secretariat Chief...Fails to Be Submitted to Plenary Session and Is Dropped

Seoul Metropolitan Council Steering Committee (Chair Kim Jeong-tae) Holds Meeting on the Morning of the 21st, Proceeds with Recruitment Process for 6 Senior Expert Advisors; Resolution Passed to Urge Dismissal of Secretary-General Kim Sang-in Amid Conflict... Internal Strife within Seoul Metropolitan Council Democratic Party Expected to Intensify Ahead of June 1 Local Elections, Attention on Chair Kim In-ho's Response

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Kim Sang-in, the head of the Seoul City Council Secretariat, who was appointed through the first open recruitment of the Seoul City Council following the revision of the Local Autonomy Act (photo), is facing impeachment after just over three months and 12 days.

The Seoul City Council Operations Committee (Chairman Kim Jeong-tae) held a meeting on the morning of the 21st and passed a resolution urging the dismissal of Secretary-General Kim Sang-in.

The Operations Committee held a plenary meeting on the 18th, where conflicts arose between council members and Secretary-General Kim over the recent announcement of an open recruitment for the senior specialist position, leading to heated exchanges.

The City Council announced the recruitment for the senior specialist (Open Type No. 4) positions, including six posts for senior specialists in the Operations, Environment & Water Resources, Urban Safety & Construction, Transportation, Education, and Budget & Special Committees specialist offices.

The Secretariat plans to accept applications from February 28 to March 7, conduct document screening and interviews in March, and announce the final successful candidates in April.

As a result, the senior specialists concerned, feeling insecure about their positions, lobbied the Operations Committee members. During the Operations Committee meeting held on the 18th, members L and J raised issues regarding the recruitment process for senior specialists and continued to question Secretary-General Kim Sang-in intensively.

Amid this, Secretary-General Kim Sang-in, somewhat agitated, responded with protests such as “Am I a subordinate of the (council) members?” and “I will also ask questions,” leading to loud exchanges. During this, Chairman Kim Jeong-tae struck the gavel, which fell to the floor, causing a tense situation.

Secretary-General Kim appeared to express his frustration in this manner while responding to the members’ questions, holding the view that there was nothing wrong with properly conducting the recruitment process according to the Seoul City Council Personnel Committee regulations established last month.

However, on the last day of the extraordinary session, Chairman Kim In-ho did not bring this agenda to the plenary session, causing it to fail.

Kim Sang-in was appointed as the head of the Seoul City Council Secretariat on November 10 last year.

Born in 1956, Kim Sang-in passed the 26th Administrative Examination and entered public service in 1983 as a section chief at Dongdaemun-gu Office in Seoul. Having served in various key positions for over 30 years in both central and local governments?including the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs spokesperson and organization director, Deputy Governor of Jeju Province, and Chair of the Appeals Committee?he is regarded as highly knowledgeable in administration as well as local autonomy and local councils.

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