Osan-si Eases Tight Labor Costs... 9.5 Billion KRW Increase in Standard Labor Costs Over 2 Years

Achievement of a Total Increase of 9.5 Billion KRW Over 2 Years... Responding to Growing Administrative Demand

Osan City in Gyeonggi Province announced on the 7th that it has increased the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's 'standard personnel expenses' by a total of 9.5 billion KRW over two years, including 5.5 billion KRW last year and 4 billion KRW this year.

'Standard personnel expenses' refer to the personnel expense limits allocated annually by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to local governments based on administrative demands such as population and area. If a local government exceeds the standard personnel expenses, a penalty is applied by reducing the general grant tax by the amount exceeded when calculating the general grant tax two years later.

Mayor Lee Gwon-jae of Osan City has personally requested the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to raise the standard personnel expenses and standard workforce size to ensure fairness with other cities and counties of similar scale. In fact, Osan City has been allocated 20 to 40 billion KRW less in standard personnel expenses compared to cities with similar population sizes such as Icheon, Yangju, Gunpo, and Gwangmyeong.

The city expects that securing the standard personnel expenses this time will lay the foundation for improving the quality of public services. The increase in personnel expenses will enable the hiring of new public officials and organizational expansion, allowing effective response to the growing administrative demands.

However, since the standard personnel expenses still fall short of the city's scale, the city plans to continue negotiations with the government to secure additional funds.

Mayor Lee said, "The increase in standard personnel expenses is the result of continuous efforts together with public officials," adding, "We will strive to reduce personnel costs through efficient organizational management while working to further increase the standard personnel expenses."