Gyeongnam Provincial Government Employees' Union Demands Withdrawal of Executive Personnel Transferred on Charges of Abuse of Authority

The Public Officials Labor Union of Gyeongnam Provincial Government demanded the withdrawal of personnel appointments for senior officials who searched employees' vehicles and homes in connection with the theft of public official appointment exam documents that occurred at the provincial government office.

On the 28th, the union held a press conference at the provincial government press center and made this statement.

The union said, "During the process of finding the lost recruitment documents, those who were handed over to the prosecution for abuse of authority after ordering the investigation of employees' vehicles and homes were promoted and remained in the departments where the victims are," adding, "We express deep regret and concern, and beyond that, anger."

"The public official who ordered the vehicle inspection to find the documents was promoted to a deputy mayor position in the province, and the official who ordered the home search remains in their current post," they raised their voices, saying, "Is it acceptable to treat the police investigation, which was forwarded with a prosecution opinion due to the vehicle and home search orders, as insignificant?"

They claimed, "We informed the illegal nature and seriousness of the incident the day before the personnel appointment and requested appropriate personnel measures for those involved to avoid burdening the provincial administration, but Gyeongnam Province ignored it," urging the withdrawal of the personnel appointments, an apology, and the establishment of measures to prevent recurrence.

The Public Officials Labor Union of Gyeongnam Provincial Government is holding a press conference at the Provincial Government Press Center.
[Photo by Lee Seryeong]

Earlier, on August 30, Gyeongnam Provincial Government reported that official documents related to the 6th Gyeongnam Provincial Fixed-term Public Official Appointment, which were stored in office lockers, were stolen.

During the search for the documents, the department issued orders to investigate employees' vehicles and residences, and upon learning this, the provincial government labor union filed a complaint with the police against the department head in September.

On the 21st, the Gyeongnam Police Agency judged that Director A, the accused, had ordered investigations into employees' personal areas and, during the investigation, confirmed the same charges against Manager B, forwarding both to the prosecution.

The perpetrator at the time was Mr. C, a man in his 30s who was an applicant for the exam. Unable to enter through the security entrance of the building, he used a ladder late at night to climb the exterior wall and break into the building to commit the crime.