Kim Kyung-ho, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu, and Lee Pil-hyung, Mayor of Dongdaemun-gu, Gain Attention for Significant Progress in Eradicating Unfair Workplace Power Abuse Culture
What is the relationship between gapjil and integrity?
Since the 8th term of the elected government, Seoul district mayors have been emphasizing the eradication of gapjil and integrity, drawing attention to the background.
Gapjil within an organization refers to the act of a department head or senior unfairly pressuring a junior, which disrupts teamwork, lowers work efficiency, and is the worst factor that harms the organizational atmosphere.
Especially among the MZ generation public officials these days, gapjil is inherently difficult to accept, and in severe cases, it has become a social problem with instances of extreme choices.
Also, if the gapjil culture continues, there is a high possibility that the internal integrity of the organization may decline.
For this reason, since the 8th term of the elected government, Seoul district mayors have been taking steps to eradicate the gapjil culture, attracting attention.
Kim Kyungho, mayor of Gwangjin-gu, directly received reports to eradicate gapjil immediately after taking office, and several administrative officers became problematic.
Because of this, some department heads resisted, saying how could the department operate if subordinates report directly to the district mayor, but since the times do not accept gapjil, the atmosphere is now settling. There were difficulties such as several people being disciplined.
An executive of Gwangjin-gu said, "Now it has become rare to even hear the term gapjil," and "It was difficult at first."
Anti-Abuse and Integrity Training for Grade 5 and Above Executives by Dongdaemun-gu Mayor Lee Pil-hyung
Meanwhile, Lee Pilhyung, mayor of Dongdaemun-gu, also conducted gapjil prevention education on the morning of the 14th with about 60 senior public officials of grade 5 or higher attending, to eradicate gapjil within the organization and create a healthy organizational culture.
The education was prepared to raise awareness among senior public officials about gapjil and to establish an atmosphere of integrity within the organization through cultivating leadership based on communication and empathy.
Lee Pilhyung, mayor of Dongdaemun-gu, who served as the instructor, shared cases and practical measures of the Public Officials' Code of Conduct under the theme "Integrity Stories from a 30-year Public Service Senior," so that public officials can voluntarily prevent gapjil and maintain integrity by transparently using budgets.
Participants in the education said, "It was an opportunity to once again reflect on the importance of communication in work," and "This lecture will greatly help improve the qualities of public officials and improve organizational culture."
Lee Pilhyung, mayor of Dongdaemun-gu, said, "I hope you lead the organization as leaders of the institution with a sense of mission and pride," and added, "Please strive to root a strong sense of integrity within the organization and strengthen communication and cooperation."
Dongdaemun-gu is promoting various participatory integrity policies such as ▲You and My Integrity Day ▲‘Integrity Ah! Let's Play’ event ▲Integrity club ‘Integrity The Keyumdan’ to spread a communicating organizational culture and cultivate sensitivity to integrity.
The public service society has entered an era where horizontal leadership with communication among all organizational members is needed, moving away from the past era of unilateral orders.
In this atmosphere, there are also executives who fail to adapt and become obsolete on their own, so caution is advised.
A citizen, Mr. A, said, "Each family has only one or two children, but if they go to work and suffer from unfair gapjil by their superiors, mentally and physically, wouldn't their parents remain silent?" emphasizing the need to eradicate the problem of gapjil within organizations.
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