Will a Personnel Typhoon Hit Seoul City at Year-End?

Seoul City Announces 7 Third-Level Promotions, But Up to 10 Senior Officials Including Audit Committee Chair, Spokesperson, and Deputy Mayor Kim Eui-seung May Retire, Causing Year-End Turmoil... Chief of Staff Kim Tae-gyun and Jeong Sang-hoon Compete, Administrative Director Lee Dong-ryul Expected to Become Spokesperson

A personnel typhoon is expected to hit Seoul City by the end of the year.

Seoul City recently announced seven candidates for promotion to Grade 3 (Deputy Director General). In addition, with the public recruitment of the Grade 2 positions such as the Chairperson of the Audit Committee and the Spokesperson, a large-scale promotion and transfer personnel reshuffle is anticipated. In particular, it is noteworthy that up to 10 top executives may step down.

If this happens, Mayor Oh Se-hoon is expected to form a team that will demonstrate tangible achievements in the 8th term of the elected administration.

On the 22nd, Seoul City disclosed the personnel operation schedule for the first half of 2024, stating that it will announce seven candidates for Grade 3 promotion by December 4.

Accordingly, with only six days left until the public announcement of the Grade 3 promotion candidates, which is a dream for senior public officials, the selection process is in full swing.

Senior Grade 4 (Section Chief) officials who are undergoing budget review for next year are expected to be in a state of high tension day by day. In particular, it seems highly likely that among the seven candidates for Grade 3 promotion, six will be from the administrative track and one from the technical track.

The leading candidates for this promotion include Kim Jong-su, Planning Officer; Ha Young-tae, Welfare Policy Section Chief; Jeon Jae-myung, Cultural Policy Section Chief; Kwon Soon-gi, Finance Section Chief; Song Gwang-nam, Autonomous Administration Section Chief; Kim Hee-gap, Disaster Safety Policy Section Chief; Jo Young-chang, General Affairs Section Chief; Kim Mi-jung, Education Support Policy Section Chief; Jo Seong-ho, Tourism Policy Section Chief; Gong Byung-yeop, Housing Policy Section Chief; and Lee Chang-seok, Transportation Policy Section Chief.

For the technical track (architecture), Kim Jang-su, Head of the Multi-family Housing Support Division, is a strong candidate. For the landscaping track, Han Jeong-hoon, Head of the Natural Ecology Division, and Park Mi-ae, Head of the Park Construction Division, are mentioned, but there are rumors that the position might be assigned to an administrative officer, which has caused internal opposition. One official warned, "If the director of the green space division, which has about 850 employees, is assigned to an administrative officer, the morale of the staff will drop significantly."

When Seoul City announced the seven Grade 3 promotion candidates, the outline of how many will step down became clear.

At the end of this year, seven people will enter retirement with honors: Administrative officers Park Jong-su and Lee Won-mok, Kim Young-sung, Deputy Mayor of Geumcheon District, Lee In-mo, Deputy Mayor of Yeongdeungpo District, Byun Seo-young, Deputy Mayor of Seocho District, and technical officers (architecture) Hong Seon-gi, Future Space Planning Officer, and Yoo Young-bong, Director of the Green City and Leisure Bureau.

However, since two positions?the Environmental Planning Officer and the Southeast Region Promotion Team Leader?will be eliminated at the end of the year, the number of promotion slots is expected to be five.

In this context, it is expected that several Grade 1 officials, including Kim Ui-seung, Administrative Deputy Mayor, will resign and move to become research professors at the University of Seoul. In particular, Deputy Mayor Kim is likely to retire due to rumors of running in next year’s general election.

Accordingly, Kim Sang-han, Chief of the Planning Office, is highly likely to be promoted to Deputy Mayor. In this case, candidates for the Planning Office Chief position include Jeong Sang-hoon, Administrative Director; Kim Tae-gyun, Economic Policy Director; and Joo Yong-tae, Head of the Future Hangang Headquarters.

Also, for the Administrative Director position, candidates such as Lee Dong-ryul, Spokesperson; Kim Young-hwan, Director of Tourism and Sports Bureau; and Koo Jong-won, Director of Lifelong Education Bureau, are expected to move.

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