Ahn Seungwan, Officer at Gyeongbuk Office of Education, Receives Prime Minister's Commendation... Saved 28.7 Billion Won in Budget

Establishing Maintenance Cycles for School Facilities
Army Training Center Also Benchmarking

The Gyeongbuk Office of Education (Superintendent Lim Jong-sik) announced on the 19th that it has become the first among provincial and metropolitan offices of education to receive the Prime Minister's Commendation in the '4th Active Administration Merit Award' conducted by the Ministry of Personnel Management.

Since 2021, the government has implemented the Active Administration Merit Award to innovate public service culture by selecting, rewarding, and giving personnel advantages to those who achieve outstanding results through proactive and creative work performance. The commendations include orders and medals, the Presidential Commendation, and the Prime Minister's Commendation. Recipients are selected through a rigorous process including preliminary screening, public perception surveys, public verification, on-site inspections, and a merit review committee.

Seungwan An, Officer, Gyeongbuk Office of Education

An Seungwan, a technical official (aged 46) in the facilities division who received the Prime Minister's Commendation this time, has worked as a professional technical civil servant in the facilities field for 20 years. He was recognized for his contribution to saving 28.7 billion KRW in the 2024 main budget by researching maintenance cycles for school facilities to enable efficient facility investment.

Based on his research in the facilities field, he established the 'Gyeongsangbuk-do Office of Education School Facility Maintenance Cycle Standard' and revised all budget allocation unit prices to link facility investment with maintenance cycles, applying these changes to budget planning.

These research outcomes have been shared as best practices with the Ministry of Education and other provincial and metropolitan offices of education, and are also being benchmarked by military units such as the Army Training Center.

The Gyeongbuk Office of Education presented the Prime Minister's Commendation to An Seungwan in accordance with government award standards, and, under the Active Administration Operation Regulations, also granted him a special one-step salary increase as a personnel benefit.

An Seungwan said, "While I am very happy to receive this award, I am most pleased that the necessity of the system has been recognized. Many studies show that the facility environment has a significant impact on academic achievement. Therefore, any harm caused by differences in facility environments falls entirely on the students. I hope that, going forward, all students will be able to receive education in high-quality facility environments without discrimination."

Meanwhile, the Gyeongbuk Office of Education has achieved a unique record by winning the Ministry of Education's Active Administration Best Practice Competition for six consecutive years and now receiving the government-conducted Active Administration Merit Award for the first time among provincial and metropolitan offices of education.

Lim Jong-sik, Superintendent of Gyeongbuk Office of Education, stated, "We will further reward and boost the morale of public officials who work proactively and diligently," and added, "Through active administration, we will communicate with and gain the trust of students, parents, and local residents, and realize a warm and trustworthy Gyeongbuk education."

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