Kim Hyung-mi, Gwangju Seo-gu Council Member, "Thorough Qualification Review Needed for Selection of Consignment Agencies"

Kim Hyung-mi, a member of the Gwangju Metropolitan City Seo-gu Council, spoke about the ‘Need for Thorough Qualification Review When Selecting Private Consignment Institutions’ during a 5-minute free speech at the 2nd plenary session of the 318th extraordinary meeting.

Currently, Seo-gu entrusts a total of 74 projects worth approximately 25 billion KRW (including national and city funds) to private consignment.

Among these, Ssangchon Youth Culture House and Seo-gu Career and Job Experience Support Center are projects with annual budgets of about 330 million KRW and 340 million KRW, respectively.

These two projects signed contracts through a recruitment announcement for consignment operators: Ssangchon Youth Culture House on February 24 of last year, and Seo-gu Career and Job Experience Support Center on December 21 of the same year, with plans to entrust and operate until December 31, 2025.

However, through the 2023 internal audit of Ssangchon Youth Culture House, issues arose regarding the career details of the operating representative of the consignment institution, leading the operating corporation to submit a letter of waiver for consignment and sub-consignment. Accordingly, Seo-gu plans to proceed with a re-consignment recruitment.

Councilor Kim said, “It is concerning that nearly a year passed before the issues that should have been checked during the recruitment process became problems, forcing a re-consignment recruitment, which may result in administrative inefficiency and inconvenience to residents due to the gap in the consignment institution,” adding, “Nevertheless, it is fortunate that proper administration was carried out to correct the issues through an internal audit.”

Councilor Kim emphasized, “This incident highlights the need for a more thorough verification process of consignment institutions during private consignment recruitment,” and stressed, “It is necessary to establish and protect an organizational culture for proper administration by district office employees and departments, as well as to prepare reward systems.”

Shin Dong-ho, Honam Reporting Headquarters, Asia Economy, bless4ya@asiae.co.kr