Seoul District Officials Pass Away Consecutively... Stirring the Public Service Community

Need for Inspection of Overall Public Service Culture
"Procedural System for Investigation Requests Needs to Be Established"

The public sector is in turmoil as civil servants across the country have been dying one after another. Following the death of civil servant A in Gimpo-si, Gyeonggi Province, related to stress from civil complaints, incidents of the deaths of senior official B and grade 6 official C in a Seoul autonomous district have occurred, leaving their families and fellow public officials in a difficult situation.

While some view this as a result of lingering abuses of power and other malpractices in the public sector, no clear investigative results have been released, causing distress among those around them. There is also an opinion that social interest should not only arise when such incidents occur, but institutional measures need to be established.

The death of senior official B in a Seoul autonomous district last month shocked not only seniors and juniors in Seoul but also the entire public sector. Considering the person's usual temperament, it is frustrating because they were not someone who would make such a choice. An acquaintance who knew the deceased well said, “He was such a kind person, so a proper investigation and inquiry are needed to understand why he made this choice.”

Another team leader C in a Seoul autonomous district also passed away on the 1st of this month, and it is known that an internal investigation is being conducted within the district office. The unfortunate choice of this team leader was revealed externally as relatives informed the media, and the public sector is experiencing another shock.

There are calls for Seoul City and the autonomous districts to prepare joint countermeasures. A representative from a Seoul autonomous district said, “When such extreme incidents occur, a joint investigative body should be formed to conduct a thorough investigation,” adding, “It seems necessary to establish a procedural system to request investigations from law enforcement agencies for those responsible.”

Currently, the families must take the initiative themselves. There is a growing view that fundamental solutions are needed because if the families of the victims do not request police investigations, unjust stories may remain unresolved and buried.