Revision of the "Standard Rules for Overseas Official Business Trips of Local Councils"
Stricter Review of Business Trips... Expanded Cost Limits and Information Disclosure
The government has decided to strengthen the prior review of repetitive overseas business trips by local councils. In particular, post-management will also be enhanced by separately reviewing reports after the trips.
On the 13th, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced that it would revise the "Standard Rules for Overseas Official Business Trips of Local Councils" to curb overseas trips mainly for simple inspections by local council members, and recommend the revised rules to all local councils.
On the 26th, one day before the mandatory mask-wearing policy on airplanes takes effect, airport users are wearing masks and moving toward the boarding gate at the domestic terminal of Gimpo Airport in Gangseo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@
The revision includes improvement measures prepared independently by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the improvement proposals based on the results of the inspection of overseas trips by local councils announced by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission last December.
First, the prior review procedure for official overseas business trips has been strengthened. Previously, the trip plan, approved by the review committee, was posted on the website within three days after the review, but from now on, the trip plan will be posted on the website at least 45 days before departure to collect residents' opinions, and after the review committee's approval, the approval document will also be disclosed. The review committee will conduct an integrated review of the trip plan, including the visited institutions, staff list, and costs, and if the trip plan changes, it must undergo a re-review, thereby strengthening the procedure.
The post-management procedure after the trip will also be strengthened. Until now, the result report had to be submitted to the authorizing officer within 15 days after the trip and reported to the council within 60 days, but from now on, the review committee will review the legality and appropriateness of the trip results. Also, while only the trip plan and result report were posted on each website, the review results will now be disclosed together. Furthermore, the relevant materials will be registered in the Local Administration Comprehensive Information Disclosure System (Naegojang Alimi) and the Overseas Official Business Trip Training System (under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel Management). Local council members must report the result report to the local council plenary session and standing committee, and if disciplinary reasons arise, refer the case to the Ethics Special Committee.
While strengthening the role of the Overseas Official Business Trip Review Committee, the independence of the review committee has also been enhanced. Previously, the composition of the trip review committee (at least 9 members for metropolitan city/provincial councils, at least 7 members for basic city/county/district councils) required at least two-thirds to be civilian members, with the rest allowed to be local council members. From now on, local council members will be limited to no more than two members excluding the traveling council members, and civilian members will be selected through a combination of public recruitment and external recommendations.
Kim Min-jae, Deputy Minister, said, "We have improved the system so that official overseas business trips can fulfill their original purpose of discovering policies and collecting data suitable for local government conditions, rather than being simple inspection-oriented overseas trips." He added, "We will continue to make efforts to establish a proper culture in local councils by conducting education and publicity together in the future."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
