Why Are More Than 20% of Seoul Metropolitan Council Secretariat Staff Working for Over 8 Years?

Song Aryang, Seoul City Council Member, Criticizes Faction Dominance in Administrative Audit on 16th, Over 20% of Staff with 8+ Years Tenure Labeled Deep-rooted Corruption... Large-scale Personnel Changes Expected in Early Next Year in Seoul City HR

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Is the Seoul Metropolitan Council Secretariat a coveted flower position?

As the Seoul Metropolitan Council Secretariat is known as a popular department, attention is drawn to the issue that among the 215 employees (excluding fixed-term positions), 68 have worked for more than 8 years, causing a backlog.

At the administrative audit of the Seoul Metropolitan Council Operations Committee (Chairman Kim Jeong-tae) held on the 16th, Assemblyman Song Ah-ryang (Democratic Party, Dobong 4·photo) pointed out, “The personnel transfer principle of the Seoul Metropolitan Council Secretariat has collapsed,” and “As of October 31 this year, 68 out of 215 employees have worked for more than 8 years, accounting for more than 20%.”

Assemblyman Song criticized, “Due to this backlog, other employees are deprived of the opportunity to move to the Secretariat,” and said, “If personnel principles are violated, this becomes a deep-rooted problem and leads to personnel corruption.”

Assemblyman Song seems to have directly pointed out the perception that because employees have worked for a long time, they gather among themselves, preventing the Secretariat from properly carrying out its original duties to ensure the council functions correctly.

Assemblyman Song’s strong remarks on this day reflect the fact that Seoul Metropolitan Council Secretariat employees have worked in one place for a long time, invisibly forming networks that hinder the proper operation of the organization.

In response, Secretariat Chief Lee Chang-hak gave a defensive answer, saying, “I will look into it,” and was reprimanded by Assemblyman Song with, “You don’t even know that?”

Accordingly, a large-scale reshuffle of Seoul Metropolitan Council Secretariat employees is expected during the regular personnel changes early next year.

Along with this, Assemblyman Jeong Jin-sul (Democratic Party, Mapo) asked, “The remodeling construction of the Seoul Metropolitan Council Members’ Hall is interfering with legislative activities. Did you ask the council members for their opinions regarding the construction?”

Secretariat Chief Lee Chang-hak replied, “We did not ask all the members,” to which Assemblyman Jeong retorted, “Then it was pushed through unilaterally.”

Also, Assemblyman Yeo Myung (People Power Party, Proportional Representation) criticized, “Regardless of whether they work at the city hall or the council, time-selective fixed-term public officials are allowed up to 57 hours of overtime per month. However, since 2015, the Seoul Metropolitan Council Secretariat has only recognized 20 hours of monthly overtime for legislative research officers without basis, paying only 290,000 won in allowances.”

In response, Secretariat Chief Lee Chang-hak acknowledged, “There was no basis for differential treatment compared to the city hall,” and promised prompt correction.