Jung Sunghye, Chairperson of the Part-Time Public Officials Union, Receives Presidential Award on Labor Day

Kwon Taesung, Director of Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Office, Jung Sunghye, Chairperson of Siseonje Union (center), Jeon Hyungjun, Vice Chairman of the Government Employees Federation (provided by Siseonje Union)

Jung Sunghye, Chairperson of the National Part-Time Public Officials Union, received the Presidential Award at the '2025 Labor Day Government Commendation Ceremony' held at the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Office on May 13.

The Labor Day Government Commendation is awarded annually to union officials and workers who have contributed to improving the quality of life for workers in the workplace, in commemoration of Labor Day. The award aims to encourage such individuals and promote a society that respects labor.

Chairperson Jung was selected as this year’s recipient of the Presidential Award in recognition of her contributions to improving the employment environment, increasing productivity, establishing a culture of labor-management coexistence, and fulfilling social responsibilities.

Chairperson Jung made significant contributions to establishing the identity of part-time public officials as civil servants. Previously, part-time public officials hired under the part-time system were covered by the National Pension and industrial accident insurance. This created an ambiguous status, as they were neither fully public nor private sector employees, especially when it came to work-related injuries. Through efforts such as legislative initiatives in the National Assembly, the Public Officials Pension Act was revised on August 21, 2018, ensuring that not only part-time public officials hired under the part-time system but all part-time public officials could be recognized as civil servants.

Chairperson Jung stated, "I believe this Presidential Award was received on behalf of the Federation of Public Officials’ Labor Unions, which has worked to improve the rights and interests of public sector workers and to build trust and harmony between labor and management." She continued, "The part-time public official recruitment system has now been in place for 11 years, but currently, 60 to 70 percent of HR departments in local governments and central administrative agencies are calling for its abolition. It is now time for the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Ministry of Personnel Management to make a decisive move."

She also pointed out, "More than 80 percent of part-time public officials work based on a 35-hour workweek, but when overtime is included, they are actually working more than 40 hours per week. Nevertheless, their pay and promotion are still calculated based only on the 35-hour standard, so urgent improvements are needed."