Kim Jeongsu, Gangwon Provincial Assembly Member, Warns of Severe Shortage of Veterinary Officials: "No More Delays"

Kim Jeongsu Highlights Lack of Veterinarians in 11 Cities and Counties
"37 Veterinary Official Vacancies, 40 Mid-term Resignations"
40 Out of 55 Hires Over Five Years Have Resigned Mid-term

Kim Jeongsu, Gangwon Provincial Assembly member. Courtesy of Gangwon Provincial Assembly

Kim Jeongsu, a Gangwon Provincial Assembly member (Cheorwon-gun District 1, Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Committee), strongly urged the implementation of measures to increase the number of veterinary officials, which has remained stagnant for several years, during the administrative audit of the Agricultural Policy Bureau at the 342nd regular session held on November 12.

According to data submitted to Assemblyman Kim by Gangwon Province, out of the 119 authorized veterinary official positions in Gangwon Province, only 82 are filled, leaving 37 vacancies. In the 18 cities and counties, there is a shortage of 26 out of 35 authorized positions. Notably, 11 regions, including Cheorwon and Hwacheon, do not have a single veterinarian.

Assemblyman Kim pointed out, "With frequent outbreaks of livestock infectious diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease and African swine fever (ASF), the lack of new hires has resulted in severe work overload for existing employees." He added, "The situation is even worse in the cities and counties, where there have been no new hires for several years."

In fact, over the past five years, the only new veterinary official hired was in Hoengseong County in 2021. Out of 151 recruitment announcements, only 39 people were actually hired.

Assemblyman Kim emphasized, "There have been 40 mid-term resignations-13 in the cities and counties and 27 in the provincial main office. While it may not be possible to match private sector veterinarians, compensation and working conditions need to be improved to a comparable level. In particular, for veterinary officials at the city and county level, practical measures to expand staffing are needed, including legal amendments to raise their rank."

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