Goyang City Public Officials Union Condemns City Council's Attitude During Administrative Audit

Labor Union Claims to City Council "Labor Rights and Human Rights Seriously Violated"

The Public Officials Labor Union of Goyang Special City in Gyeonggi recently voiced strong criticism regarding the operation method of the city council's administrative audit. In a statement released on the 2nd, the union demanded respect for public officials' labor rights and efficient conduct of the administrative audit from the city council.

A view of Goyang Special City Hall. Provided by Goyang Special City.

The Goyang Special City union pointed out that the ongoing administrative audit frequently extends past midnight into the early morning hours. The union stated, “The administrative audit that detains the majority of good and innocent public officials until the early morning, preventing them even from leaving work, is a clear human rights violation and a form of abusive power harassment.”

The city council's administrative audit, which began on the 27th of last month, is known to have proceeded late into the night several times. According to the union, the audits by the Planning and Administration Committee and the Construction and Transportation Committee extended past 11 p.m. or even until 1:30 a.m.

The union also raised concerns about the environment in which the audit is conducted.

The union explained, “The current reality is that nearly 100 public officials are unnecessarily waiting until the early morning in a cramped meeting room where even breathing is difficult.”

Regarding the ‘Campaign for Establishing a Culture of Mutual Respect between Goyang City Public Officials and the City Council,’ the union also expressed concern about the uncooperative attitude of some city council members. The union insisted, “If this is an official rejection stance by the city council, the reasons must be officially and publicly disclosed.”

They continued, “The chairperson of the standing committee, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea who declares labor respect as the party’s platform, is ignoring public sector workers with anti-labor remarks and a high-handed attitude, even denying the existence of the public officials’ labor union,” criticizing the behavior.

Meanwhile, the Goyang City Council opened the 290th 2nd regular session on November 25 and began 26 days of legislative activities until December 20. During this period, administrative audits, ordinance proposals, and other agenda reviews are conducted by each standing committee. From December 13 to 19, the Special Budget and Accounts Committee will review the 2025 budget proposal and fund operation plans.