Gwangju Seo-gu Refutes Criticism of Fixed-Term Hiring as a Measure for Administrative Expertise

Recent Criticism by Seo-gu Councilor Yoon Jeong-min on 'Excessive Personnel Favoring Seo-gu Mayor's Close Associates'

Seo-gu: "Using Ministry of the Interior and Safety System Adopted by Other Districts... No Direct Influence on Civil Servant Personnel"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Shin Dong-ho] Recently, Yoon Jeong-min, a member of the Gwangju Metropolitan City Seo-gu Council, fiercely criticized Seo-gu Mayor Kim Yi-gang’s hiring of fixed-term and special-position public officials as “favoritism towards close associates,” prompting Seo-gu to refute the claims point by point.

Councilor Yoon pointed out the excessive hiring of fixed-term and special-position employees during the 8th elected term in a 5-minute free speech at the 2nd plenary session of the 1st regular meeting of the 306th session.

The content revealed that three fixed-term public officials equivalent to grade 5 outside the quota, one fixed-term public official equivalent to grade 5 within the quota, one special-position public official equivalent to grade 7, and two special-position public officials equivalent to grade 8 were hired.

Yoon said, “Outsiders think there is no problem with personnel because they are hired outside the quota, but in reality, they are subject to total salary expenditure limits,” adding, “It is difficult to secure the budget for hiring new employees such as grade 9 who are needed on the ground.”

He also stated, “In welfare and technical positions, due to increased administrative demand, there is a severe shortage of people who can work on-site rather than at the executive level,” and “If one grade 5 fixed-term employee is hired, it could instead fund three grade 9 entry-level employees.”

In response, Seo-gu stated that the introduction of professional fixed-term positions is a measure to enhance administrative expertise and strengthen communication and external cooperation.

With the full-scale decentralization of local government and rapidly changing administrative environments, as well as increasingly diverse and complex administrative services, it was judged that expertise in communication and cooperation must be further strengthened, leading to the hiring of two new “professional fixed-term public officials.”

Professional fixed-term public officials are a system established by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to utilize external experts with professional knowledge and experience in public service.

It is being introduced and promoted by local governments nationwide, and since 2018, Gwangju City, Buk-gu, and Nam-gu have been actively utilizing it.

Accordingly, Seo-gu also hired a Director of External Cooperation and a Communication Advisor as professional fixed-term employees in July.

A Seo-gu official explained, “We are strengthening policy decision-making, conflict management, external cooperation, and resident communication,” adding, “In particular, professional fixed-term public officials can be hired outside the quota within the standard salary budget, without reducing the quota of regular public officials, so it does not directly affect promotions or personnel matters of public officials.”

Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Shin Dong-ho yjm3070@asiae.co.kr