Naju City Council Passes Proposal Urging Improvement of Lower-Rank Public Officials' Treatment

Representative Lee Jaenam's Proposal

Naju City Council (Chairman Lee Sang-man) announced on the 29th that it passed the "Resolution Urging Institutional Improvement for the Treatment of Lower-Rank Public Officials," which was proposed by Representative Lee Jae-nam, at the 2nd plenary session of the 256th regular meeting.

The resolution includes ▲"Introducing a price-linked system in line with the inflation rate and reforming the wage system based on the principle of 'lower ranks supporting higher ranks' to fundamentally and structurally resolve contradictions in the salaries of lower-rank public officials," ▲"Legislating the Public Officials' Salary Committee regulations, which are currently only instructions from the Ministry of Personnel Management, into a Prime Ministerial decree or higher to elevate the committee to a deliberative body," and ▲"Ensuring the right to livelihood and improving the treatment of young lower-rank public officials."

Representative Lee Jae-nam pointed out, "The turnover intention of basic local government officials is higher than that of central and metropolitan officials, raising concerns about the weakening of local administration," adding, "Such voluntary resignations by young public officials negatively affect administrative capacity and public services, potentially causing disruptions in public duties due to increased workload from vacancies."

He continued, "Low salaries and an authoritarian organizational culture based on seniority are also among the reasons for the high turnover and resignation rates of young public officials," and said, "To realize work-life balance for these lower-rank public officials, systems such as fair evaluation and compensation and the expansion of expertise must be improved."

The Naju City Council plans to deliver the adopted resolution to the Presidential Secretariat, the National Assembly, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and others.

Naju = Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kim Yuk-bong yjm3070@asiae.co.kr