"Election Commission Work Done Independently" Gyeongnam Public Officials Union Begins Tent Sit-in Protest

Gyeongnam Election Commission "Consulting with Ministry of the Interior on Staffing Increase, Please Cooperate"

With 51 days remaining until the 22nd National Assembly election, the Gyeongnam Regional Headquarters of the Korean Government Employees' Union has begun an indefinite tent protest in front of the Gyeongnam Election Commission, demanding the cessation of forced mobilization of election-related public officials and an increase in election allowances.

The Gyeongnam Government Employees' Union stated, "The election tasks assigned to public officials are limited to compiling the voter list and providing household addresses for sending election brochures," adding, "The remaining tasks such as sending election brochures and managing voting and counting should be handled by the Election Commission."

"To demand the cessation of forced mobilization of public officials for election tasks and an increase in election day allowances, we visited the provincial Election Commission with signatures from over 10,000 union members and held a meeting," they explained. "The Election Commission responded that there is nothing the Gyeongnam Election Commission can do beyond the central Election Commission's policies, questioned whether this is a collective action or a dispute, and asked if public officials should behave this way."

The Public Officials' Union Gyeongnam Regional Headquarters is holding a press conference in front of the Gyeongnam Election Commission, opposing the mobilization of election office public officials for the general election and urging an increase in election allowances.
[Photo by Lee Seryeong]

They said, "We cannot overlook the attitude shown by the provincial Election Commission during the meeting and will begin an indefinite tent protest," adding, "We will send an official letter under the name of the Eup, Myeon, and Dong Election Commissions instructing them not to designate proxy tasks but to directly carry out election duties."

"The Election Commission should stop forcibly mobilizing public officials for election tasks and directly handle the work related to election brochures," they raised their voices, saying, "One should do their own work themselves."

The union is demanding ▲ cessation of forced mobilization of public officials for election tasks ▲ increase in election task allowances ▲ direct execution by the Election Commission of proxy election tasks such as posting posters and sending brochures.

On the 7th, they delivered signatures from 13,692 public official union members opposing election task mobilization and conveyed the resignation intentions of 500 secretaries and clerks from Eup, Myeon, and Dong Election Commissions across the province.

From that day, union officials from 18 city and county branches in the province will take turns conducting a 24-hour indefinite protest.

Tent protest site of the Public Officials Union in front of the Gyeongnam Election Commission.
[Photo by Public Officials Union Gyeongnam Branch]

Earlier, the union claimed, "Since 2023, we have demanded election task allowances linked to the minimum wage and an increased ratio of private sector participation in election personnel, but nothing has changed, and instead, with the introduction of vote verification, they are trying to mobilize even more public officials."

"We are assigned tasks such as posting and sending brochures, which are not even our duties, and on election day, we start work at 4 a.m. and are involved in voting tasks until after 8 p.m.," they appealed. "Despite working high-intensity shifts of up to 16 hours, the allowance is only 130,000 won."

According to the Gyeongnam Election Commission, for the upcoming April general election, the allowance for voting supervisors is 190,000 won, for voting clerks 130,000 won, and for counting clerks, 75,000 won if finishing before midnight and 150,000 won if after midnight.

The number of personnel requested by the Election Commission from local governments for this general election exceeds 10,000.

Core personnel include 305 voting supervisors, 305 equipment staff, and 921 voting supervisors on election day, totaling 1,531; combined with 2,506 early voting clerks, 4,880 voting clerks, and 2,442 counting clerks, the total is 11,359.

A Gyeongnam Election Commission official said, "We understand that public officials work hard during elections and agree that current treatment needs improvement, but unfortunately, there is nothing the Gyeongnam Election Commission can do immediately on its own."

"Given the nature of election tasks such as voting and counting, where accuracy, fairness, and political neutrality are crucial, it is appropriate for public officials to be in charge," they added. "We are requesting only essential personnel and are consulting with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to supplement staff from other sources, so we hope public officials will cooperate a little more."

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