[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] The Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 29th that it will re-open recruitment after Kim Jae-cheol, senior research fellow at the Gwangju-Jeonnam Research Institute, who was selected as the first director candidate of the Gwangju Welfare Research Institute, managed by the Gwangju Welfare Foundation, submitted a letter of resignation on the 28th due to personal reasons.
The city has revised related ordinances and articles of incorporation earlier this year to reorganize the Gwangju Welfare Foundation, which had been criticized for neglecting its original role by focusing only on operating entrusted facilities, into a policy research-oriented “Gwangju Welfare Research Institute.” It has been conducting a recruitment process to hire a capable inaugural director to lead the institute.
In the first recruitment held from January to February, four candidates applied, but all were deemed ineligible by the executive recommendation committee. In the re-recruitment process starting in March, the executive recommendation committee recommended two out of three applicants as director candidates. Consequently, on the 20th, Mayor Lee Yong-seop nominated Kim Jae-cheol, senior research fellow at the Gwangju-Jeonnam Research Institute, as the inaugural director and announced him as the final successful candidate after a background check.
However, on the 27th, director candidate Kim Jae-cheol met with the appointing authority, Mayor Lee Yong-seop, and expressed his intention to decline the appointment due to unexpected family health issues, which he feared would hinder his smooth performance as the inaugural director. He submitted his letter of resignation to the Gwangju Welfare Research Institute on the afternoon of the 28th.
The city plans to convene the executive recommendation committee soon to discuss procedures for re-opening the director recruitment.
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