Uiryeong-gun "Unfair Disruption of Council Chairman"... Urges Withdrawal of Preferential Personnel Appointment

“Uiryeong-gun Council Chairman, Immediately Withdraw the Preferential Personnel Appointment!”

Uiryeong-gun, Gyeongnam Province, announced on the 11th that Deputy Governor Ha Jong-deok and public officials held a press conference on the 10th in the county office meeting room, immediately demanding the withdrawal of the recent promotion of a specific public official to grade 5 administrative officer by Kim Gyu-chan, chairman of the Uiryeong County Council.

Deputy Governor Ha stated, “The unilateral and controversial preferential promotion by the chairman of the Uiryeong County Council has deeply disappointed the approximately 600 public officials of Uiryeong-gun,” adding, “This promotion violates the personnel agreement and disregards the residents,” urging the withdrawal of the promotion.

On the 10th, Uiryeong-gun, Gyeongnam Province, with Deputy Governor Ha Jong-deok and public officials, immediately called for the withdrawal of Chairman Kim Gyu-chan of the council's personnel promotion of a specific public official within the council to the grade 5 administrative officer. [Image provided by Uiryeong-gun]

Earlier, on the 4th, the county public officials’ union issued a statement opposing the grade 5 promotion of Mr. A, a council member, citing widespread dissatisfaction among public officials due to the council’s inappropriate personnel decisions.

The county and the council signed a “Personnel Affairs Agreement” in January 2022, agreeing that council staff would be dispatched from the county to the council until further consultation, and that decisions would be made through “mutual cooperation” between the council and the county.

Deputy Governor Ha and other officials pointed out, “Before the personnel appointments in the first half of 2024, the Uiryeong County Council should have requested either an extension of the current dispatch or a new dispatch for grade 5 personnel according to the agreement between the two institutions. However, ignoring the promise with Uiryeong-gun in the agreement, the council chairman unilaterally announced and executed the first half of 2024 personnel appointments and promotions, citing only the personnel authority of the local council chairman under Article 103 of the Local Autonomy Act.”

They further argued, “The grade 5 promotion candidate Mr. A has a total public service career of 21 years, with only 1 year and 6 months of experience at the county office during his 8 years and 6 months at the current rank,” and claimed, “This promotion is more than 10 years faster than the average total service period of 31 years of the three grade 5 promotion candidates at the county office.”

They strongly criticized the inappropriate personnel decision as “not an independent exercise of personnel authority by the chairman but an abuse of personnel authority.” They also emphasized, “An apology should be made to the residents for the unfairness of this promotion, and a promise to prevent recurrence should be given.”

Meanwhile, although the Local Autonomy Act was amended to allow local councils to exercise personnel authority starting January 2022, conflicts between basic local governments and councils have occurred in Gyeongnam Province, specifically in Tongyeong City and Uiryeong-gun.