[Interview] Im Young-il, Director of Gwangsan-gu Facilities Management Corporation, "We Will Stand Tall as a Top Public Enterprise"

"A Workplace Full of Excitement" Ongoing Counseling System and Harmony Initiatives

Directly Visiting Garbage Collection Sites as a Complaint Resolver

Identifying Issues in Collection Staff and Routes with a Commitment to Improvemen

"Through change and innovation, we will leap forward as a first-class public enterprise trusted by the residents."

On the 20th, Lim Young-il, the newly appointed director of the Gwangsan-gu Facilities Management Corporation, said in an interview with this paper, "We will restore the corporation's trust by realizing fair and transparent responsible management and establishing a culture of communication, harmony, and coexistence."

Lim Young-il, the new chairman of Gwangsan-gu Facilities Management Corporation.
Photo by Jin-Hyung Park

Currently, the corporation faces a mountain of issues to resolve. The organization has frequently been thrown into turmoil due to numerous lawsuits, accusations, and complaints stemming from workplace bullying and other reasons, and the discipline has deteriorated to a serious level due to repeated misconduct by employees such as fuel theft and drunk driving.

Complaints about uncollected household waste have also surged explosively, causing significant strain. This appears to be influenced by factors such as leadership vacancies, including the absence of a head of the management division, and employee negligence.

The previous director also left office in disgrace without being able to resolve this chaos during his term.

Director Lim, who has taken on these challenges, has a unique determination. He plans to open a venue for harmony among employees, starting with 'honest conversations with staff.'

Immediately upon taking office, he implemented the 'Director’s Office Open-Door Consultation System' as his first policy. The door is always open, lowering the threshold for communication. Thanks to these face-to-face conversations, he listens to employees’ concerns and does not hesitate to offer words of comfort and encouragement.

Starting early next year, he also plans to actively foster a 'lively and enjoyable workplace atmosphere.' This includes ongoing initiatives such as relay compliments, sending encouraging messages upon arrival at work, special days like Rice Cake Soup Day, Ramen Day, Fish Cake Day, and movie viewing events to boost employee morale.

He emphasized, "I want to create a workplace atmosphere where people want to work, want to come to work, and leave work feeling fulfilled," adding, "I will carry out dialogue-based and field-oriented administration with the belief that the answers lie on the ground."

He pledged, "With a warm heart and a cool head, I will devote all efforts to building a culture of coexistence between labor and management, as well as among employees, through frank and continuous dialogue."

To restore broken discipline, he believes that employee education must be conducted alongside, and sometimes strict measures are necessary.

Director Lim said, "While we should embrace with tolerance those who make minor mistakes while actively working, employees who intentionally and continuously commit misconduct will be strictly punished."

Regarding criticisms about inadequate household waste collection, he stated, "To minimize related complaints, we will thoroughly analyze waste disposal conditions, collection personnel, vehicle deployment, and collection routes to devise improvement measures for the problems."

In particular, he revealed, "We will establish a 'Complaint Reporting and Processing Center' in the director’s office so that the director can directly inspect waste collection sites to minimize complaints and prevent issues in advance."

However, he explained, "We collect about 300 tons of waste daily on average, but among the 172 environmental staff, about 20 to 30 are absent due to illness, annual leave, or special leave, causing a shortage of personnel."

Complaints related to the corporation’s household waste collection and transportation increased from 494 cases in 2021 to 1,336 cases in 2022.

Director Lim concluded by reiterating, "We will form an innovation task force and plan labor-management empathy events to boost work motivation and create a harmonious workplace."

Meanwhile, Director Lim is a former administrative official who served as deputy mayor of Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, as well as policy officer for Gwangju’s Cultural Capital Policy and director of the Job Investment Policy Bureau. His term lasts until July next year, the remaining period of former director Shin Seon-ho who resigned early, with the possibility of annual renewal.