Gunsan City Draws Attention with 'Dutch Pay' Campaign to Improve Unfair Practices and Organizational Culture

Campaign for 1/n Bill Splitting in Meals, Gatherings, and Company Dinners

Gunsan City is attracting attention by promoting a Dutch pay campaign as one of the measures to improve unreasonable practices and organizational culture.

In March, the city took follow-up action on the proposal “Gunsan City Hall officials calculate expenses by dividing by n” selected in the ‘2023 Anti-Corruption and Integrity Policy Contest’ for all employees. The campaign encourages participants to each bear their own costs after various meals, dinners, and gatherings by using a convenient settlement smart app.

A view of Gunsan City Hall. [Photo by Gunsan City]

While some may think, “What’s special about Dutch pay in an era where it is common,” this campaign was launched reflecting internal voices that practices such as “collecting group funds” and “serving superiors at meals and drinking gatherings” still exist.

The practice of serving superiors, which can be seen as a dark side of Korean public service culture, and providing meals, drinks, or gifts to higher-ups may violate the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act.

Also, the so-called “Korean pay,” a method where one person pays the entire amount after meals or drinks, considered a virtue expressing Korea’s unique sense of affection, is equally burdensome for seniors, superiors, and elders, so the Dutch pay campaign is welcomed.

A city official said, “Outdated payment practices rather make it difficult to form healthy relationships and communication within the organization,” adding, “We hope that Dutch pay will reduce burdens on each other and help form horizontal and rich human relationships.”

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