Abolition of Full-Time Citizen Auditor System... Superintendent Geunshik Jung of Seoul Expresses "Regret"

Seoul Metropolitan Council Passes Related Ordinance in Plenary Session

Full-Time Positions Reorganized to Part-Time, Reduced to 30 Members or Fewer

"Measures Will Be Taken to Ensure Whistleblower Protection and Support"

Geunshik Jung, Superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, expressed his regret on March 13 regarding the passage of an ordinance bill abolishing the full-time citizen auditor system by the Seoul Metropolitan Council's plenary session.

Jung Geunsik, Superintendent of Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education. Photo by Jo Yongjun

On his social media account that day, Superintendent Jung stated, "I earnestly conveyed my opinion that the full-time citizen auditor system, which plays a positive role, should not be abolished." He added, "Nevertheless, it is disappointing that the Seoul Metropolitan Council passed the amendment abolishing the full-time citizen auditors in the plenary session."

Citizen auditors are appointed by the Superintendent of Education to carry out audit and investigation work, as well as to make recommendations for correcting unreasonable systems.

Earlier that day, the Seoul Metropolitan Council held a plenary session and processed the "Partial Amendment Ordinance for the Integrity Citizen Auditor System of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education." The ordinance, proposed by council member Hwang Cheolkyu (People Power Party, Seongdong 4), was passed with 52 votes in favor, 3 against, and 1 abstention out of 56 members present.

This amendment abolishes the full-time citizen auditor positions and makes all roles part-time, while also reducing the number of citizen auditors from the original 50 to a maximum of 30. Criticism that the current citizen auditor system does not properly assess public interest reports surfaced with the case of teacher Jihyebok, who suffered personnel disadvantages after making a whistleblowing report.

However, Superintendent Jung maintains that the full-time citizen auditor system has played a positive role, such as promoting public interest reporting.

He explained, "In 2010, we introduced the part-time citizen auditor system to enhance the fairness and objectivity of audits. Later, in 2015, we hired full-time citizen auditors to conduct audits on whistleblowing cases, thereby improving the credibility of investigations into public interest reports." He added, "Since 2016, we have expanded the number of full-time citizen auditors to three, making efforts to encourage public interest reporting and enhance the credibility of related investigations."

Superintendent Jung expressed concern that "If the full-time citizen auditors are eliminated due to this ordinance amendment, we expect difficulties in operating the Public Interest Reporting Center starting in July, and the function of protecting and supporting whistleblowers will be weakened."

He continued, "The Office of Education will prepare measures to ensure that the functions of the Public Interest Reporting Center and whistleblower protection and support are not disrupted," and added, "We will consider and develop alternatives to substantively strengthen the functions of the Public Interest Reporting Center."

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