Former Employee Who Retired 20 Years Ago Appointed as Secretary General of Sustainable Region Foundation
Suspicion of Tailored Recruitment as Only Secretary General Position Announced with Age Limit of 65 While Regular Staff Retire at 60
There are growing suspicions of preferential treatment after an individual from Governor Kim Kiwoong's election camp was appointed as the Secretary General of the Sustainable Regional Foundation, to which Seocheon County, Chungnam, contributed 1.1 billion won.
Particularly controversial is the fact that, although the foundation's regular and contract employees have a retirement age of 60, the Secretary General position was advertised with an age limit of 65, leading to criticism that the requirements were tailored for a specific individual.
According to an Asia Economy report on the 4th, the Sustainable Regional Foundation announced an open recruitment for an executive director (Secretary General) in September last year, after a Grade 5 public official from Seocheon County Hall had been seconded to the position. Candidate A was then hired as Secretary General. The term is two years, with a possible one-year extension based on performance, and the annual salary is 51 million won.
The Secretary General oversees the foundation's finances and operations, directs and supervises staff, and manages affairs related to the local council and central government agencies.
It is reported that the county had previously seconded a public official to the Secretary General position, considering the need to handle external affairs with central government agencies.
However, Kim Kiwoong, the foundation's chairman, convened a board meeting in July 2023 and partially amended the bylaws to relax the qualifications for Secretary General. Subsequently, in September of the same year, the position was advertised as open to those who had served as a public official for at least 15 years and held Grade 6 or higher, resulting in the appointment of Candidate A, who retired from public service over 20 years ago.
It is reported that Candidate A has no experience in key areas of the foundation's work, such as rural revitalization, commercial district revitalization, or urban regeneration projects.
Notably, while the bylaws specify a retirement age of 60 for regular and contract employees, the contract position of Secretary General was given an eligibility age of up to 65, raising suspicions that the recruitment was tailored for Candidate A.
There are also claims that the appointment was a reward for Candidate A's participation in Kim Kiwoong's election camp during the last local election.
Kim Ajin, a Democratic Party county council member, pointed out at the Seocheon County Council's Legislative Policy Committee in December 2023, "The Secretary General should be someone capable of carrying out the work, but there are trust issues," and added, "Although the council cannot intervene in personnel matters, it must assess whether the appointee can effectively carry out projects such as local job creation, revitalization of traditional market alleyways, rural revitalization, and village development."
Lee Gangseon, another council member, also criticized, "While the retirement age for regular and contract employees is 60, someone over 61 was appointed as Secretary General," and added, "Even though the eligibility was set at under 65, hiring someone over 60 in violation of the regulations is wrong."
He continued, "The qualification was changed to require over 15 years of public service and at least 8 years at Grade 6, but it generally takes 14 to 16 years for a public official to be promoted to Grade 6. Others who are promoted to Grade 6 but do not have 8 years of experience cannot even apply," adding, "Amending the personnel regulations to hire someone from the governor's camp is not desirable for the operation of the foundation."
In response, a county official stated, "The Secretary General of the foundation was hired through proper procedures."
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