Will Park Wansu's 'Cutting' Begin? ... Governor-Elect of Gyeongnam Considers Restructuring Investment and Affiliated Organizations

Organizational Operation Efficiency, Clarification of Department Roles and Tasks, and Rationalization of Financial Allocation

Park Wansu, Governor-elect of Gyeongnam Province.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] A major 'cutting' is expected to take place for the institutions invested and funded by Gyeongnam Province.

Park Wansu, the governor-elect of Gyeongnam Province, has ordered a restructuring of the province's invested and funded institutions and a reexamination of key provincial administration issues.

Since taking over the governor's office on the 7th, Governor-elect Park has focused on fundamental matters of provincial administration such as ▲organizational operation efficiency ▲clarification of the province's roles and duties ▲rationalization of financial allocation.

This judgment stems from the belief that to enhance the competitiveness of Gyeongnam provincial administration, it is essential to first ensure that internal organizations operate efficiently and rationally.

The governor-elect said, “Review whether the functions of invested and funded institutions such as the Economic Promotion Agency and the Women and Family Foundation overlap with administrative organizations or are inefficient, and based on principles, examine everything from comprehensive functional readjustment to restructuring of these institutions.”

He added, “Having a level 2 head of headquarters above a level 3 director is like an 'ok-sang-ok' (redundant hierarchy). Assign level 2 officials to oversee relevant departments as heads, and expand the multiple rank system that allows positions to be assigned based on work ability rather than rank,” requesting rational and transparent personnel management.

Governor-elect Park pointed out that Gyeongnam Province's integrity rating dropped from grade 1 in 2017 to grade 4 consecutively in 2020 and 2021, urging the preparation of special measures to improve integrity in public works and service contracts.

He also advised that the province should proactively set policy directions and lead in a balanced manner but should not try to handle all policies and projects.

He said, “It is not acceptable to merely approve projects submitted by cities and counties or just distribute budgets and stop there, or to focus only on handling complaints. If the province finds it difficult to manage properly, efforts to upgrade local roads to national roads or transfer management authority of ports or rivers should also be considered.”

Regarding large-scale projects such as Ungdong 1 District, Robot Land, and Jangmok Tourism Complex, he emphasized that the province's role and responsibility must be clear to avoid delays or situations where only private companies benefit.

He requested thorough management to prevent the wasteful operation of budgets allocated to the Office of Education, such as educational financial support and school space innovation projects, and ordered a legal review of the province's audit authority to ensure subsidies are properly used.

He stressed that various national and public facilities, centers, and memorial halls should be promoted based on accurate demand forecasts rather than indiscriminate expansion, and efforts should be made to have the central government handle them.

He said that functions in the firefighting sector, such as the 119 comprehensive situation room and rescue and emergency medical services, should be reinforced and linked to establish a control tower for emergency medical services, and requested multifaceted policy reviews for youth entrepreneurship promotion and housing stability, emphasizing the need to expand functions and investments in disaster management and youth policies.

At a briefing on the Provincial Administration Innovation Promotion Team's work, he emphasized, “Unnecessary protocol for the governor must be eliminated.”

He believes that “we must move away from authoritarianism and create a free atmosphere where people can focus solely on work and work creatively.”

Governor-elect Park stated, “It is professional ethics for public officials to fulfill their responsibilities and duties,” urging them to carry out their missions, and also announced plans to regularize communication by rank, such as levels 8 and 9, after inauguration to improve organizational culture, office management culture, and vertical communication.

At a meeting, he said, “To create a creative and efficient provincial administration, we need to look at the organization through the eyes of young employees,” and added, “Let's find ways to drastically change the atmosphere at the provincial office so that people say we changed the organizational culture that even central government ministries could not.”

From the start, Governor-elect Park Wansu and the transition team plan to derive provincial administration tasks by June and disclose them to the residents, and once the term of the 8th popularly elected governor begins on July 1, they will actively proceed with implementation.

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