[Gwanga in] "Retiree Gold Rings with My Money?"... Public Service 'Severance Pay' Controversy

The Practice of Giving 'Jeonbyeolgeum' (Farewell Money) to Retirees
Despite Recommendations Citing It as 'Inappropriate',
Some Regions Still Exchange Jeonbyeolgeum
Young Public Officials Ask, "Why Give Jeonbyeolgeum?"

The culture of giving ‘farewell money’ to retirees still remains in the public service sector. Although it has disappeared from central government ministries following government improvement recommendations and criticism from the media and the National Assembly, in local communities where oversight is lax, public servant unions still give money or gold rings. While this culture is considered natural among the middle-aged generation, younger public servants are expressing dissatisfaction.

A public servant union belonging to a local government in Gyeongbuk paid a total of 6 million won in farewell money to 12 union members scheduled to retire earlier this month. This action was based on an internal rule that grants 500,000 won in farewell money each time a union member retires. The union promoted this as a “farewell event for seniors who have devoted their lives and are now leaving the public office they belonged to.”

A public servant union at a district office in Seoul gave gold rings as farewell money to retirees earlier this year. The union has a rule that if a member pays union dues for 5 years, they receive a 1-don gold ring, and if over 15 years, a 2-don gold ring. The price of 2-don gold was about 600,000 won on that day. A union official explained, “This is a regulation preferred by the employees and was not arbitrarily made by us.”

Farewell money refers to money given as an expression of regret to someone who is leaving. It is a gift given to people retiring or changing jobs within an organization and has been actively used especially in the legal profession and public service sector. However, as concerns grew that it was being used like bribes in the legal field, and with the implementation of the Anti-Graft Act, commonly known as the Kim Young-ran Act, it began to disappear.

New Public Servants: "Why Give Farewell Money to Retirees?"

In 2015, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission created a recommendation on farewell money and distributed it to central ministries and all local governments. This was because inappropriate incidents could occur during the exchange of money or gifts among public servants. The recommendation introduced appropriate examples of farewell gifts such as cutlery sets, fountain pens, coffee cup sets, brass spoons, and dining trays.

Nevertheless, controversies surrounding farewell money continue to arise. Last year, it was revealed that at a high school in Incheon, about 10 teachers over 5 years sent cash as farewell money to retiring teachers. Some teachers explained that they had no choice but to comply with the demand for farewell money, but the Incheon Metropolitan Office of Education judged this as a violation of the Anti-Graft Act. In 2020, the National Assembly raised concerns that some local governments were spending excessive amounts on farewell money, such as pure gold keys or couple training trips.

Currently, unions that provide farewell money maintain that it is a recommendation that does not require mandatory compliance and that there is no problem with the current system as they allocate separate budgets for it. A public servant union official said, “We appropriately set aside and allocate union budgets separately,” adding, “People born in the 1960s are retiring, and there is no major problem with paying farewell money.”

Among younger public servants, dissatisfaction with the farewell money culture is emerging. A person named A working at a local government in Chungbuk said, “There are about 800 public servants in our union,” and lamented, “Newly hired public servants have to pay farewell money for these people until they retire.” B, a 9th-grade public servant, pointed out, “I saw on my pay slip that money was deducted for farewell money without my consent,” and said, “I have a low salary, so why do I have to take care of farewell money for retirees who are now receiving pensions?”