Enforcement Decree of the Public Veterinary Officer Act Promulgated and Enforced on the 25th
Seniority Allowance Newly Introduced
Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs: "Continuous Efforts to Improve Treatment"
To improve the treatment of public veterinary officers working on the front lines of livestock infectious disease prevention and management, a seniority allowance will also be paid to public veterinary officers. The government has decided to continuously promote improvements in treatment, such as increasing the quarantine activity incentive and mandating housing support.
On the 26th, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced that the partial amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Public Veterinary Officer Act, which includes paying a seniority allowance (30,000 KRW per month) to public veterinary officers, was promulgated and enforced on the 25th.
Public veterinary officers are a military alternative service system introduced in 2007. It is a system where licensed veterinarians engage in livestock quarantine work for three years. Currently, 379 public veterinary officers are working at livestock quarantine institutions. The number of public veterinary officers has been steadily decreasing, from 446 in 2022 to 423 in 2023.
An official from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said, "About 150 public veterinary officers are needed annually, but only 103 new public veterinary officers were recruited last year, resulting in a manpower shortage. Along with the newly established seniority allowance, we are promoting improvements in treatment such as increasing the quarantine activity incentive and mandating housing support and official residences at assigned institutions."
This amendment to the enforcement decree aims to provide a legal basis for paying the seniority allowance (30,000 KRW per month) to public veterinary officers, who are term-appointed public officials, following the revision of the "Regulations on Public Officials' Allowances" in January last year, which stipulates paying seniority allowances to public officials with less than five years of service.
Additionally, the seniority allowance and holiday leave pay, which are currently paid based on the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs' internal regulations (Public Veterinary Officer Operation Guidelines), have been legislated in the enforcement decree. It clarifies that seniority allowance and holiday leave pay are included in the remuneration of public veterinary officers.
The seniority allowance is a type of "incentive" paid twice a year in January and July. Public veterinary officers with a three-year service period received up to 10% of their monthly salary as a seniority allowance until last year, but this has been increased to 20% starting this year. Holiday leave pay is 60% of the monthly salary paid before Lunar New Year and Chuseok holidays.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is also pursuing additional improvements in treatment. Choi Jeong-rok, Director of the Quarantine Policy Bureau at the Ministry, said, "We plan to continue to collect opinions from related ministries, local governments, and relevant associations to improve the treatment of public veterinary officers by increasing the quarantine activity incentive and mandating housing support and official residences at assigned institutions. We expect this to contribute to improving the treatment of public veterinary officers who quietly fulfill their duties on the front lines of livestock infectious disease prevention and management despite ongoing challenges such as the continuous occurrence of livestock infectious diseases."
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