Will Cheonan City Council Personnel Conflict Be Resolved?...Human Rights Petition Withdrawn

Personnel Committee Expected to Convene Within This Month

An employee of the Cheonan City Council in South Chungcheong Province, referred to as A, who had suffered due to personnel conflicts that began earlier this year, withdrew the petition they had submitted to the National Human Rights Commission of Korea on May 21.

A, who had been a candidate for promotion to Grade 5, had previously submitted the petition on May 16, stating, "I was harmed by the chairperson's unfair exercise of personnel authority."

It has been reported that A withdrew the petition on the afternoon of May 21 after meeting with Chairperson Kim Haenggeum and Secretary-General Jeong Gyuwun, raising expectations that the personnel conflict may be coming to an end.

A stated, "I withdrew the petition immediately after meeting with the chairperson," but also added, "Nothing has been decided yet, but I am hoping for a good outcome."

Previously, Chairperson Kim had refused for five months to approve the personnel plan deliberated and decided by the Personnel Committee, stating at the beginning of the year, "There are problems with the personnel procedures."

During this process, suspicions also arose internally that there was a conflict of interests among cartels formed by certain local high schools.

There were also concerns that the negative effects would continue, as the list of candidates for the regular personnel changes in the second half of the year had to be prepared before the regular personnel changes for the first half were finalized.

Currently, as the approval of the personnel plan for Grade 5 promotion candidates has been delayed, subsequent personnel changes for Grades 6 to 8 have also been postponed. As a result, a total of 8 employees (20% of all staff) have been unable to receive promotions.

Secretary-General Jeong Gyuwun said, "There were rumors that the results previously deliberated and decided by the Personnel Committee would be nullified, but that is not true," and added, "To proceed with the regular personnel changes in the second half of the year, we must resolve the accumulated personnel issues by the end of this month. We are reviewing various options."

He continued, "We also need to fill the vacant chief secretary position left by an honorable retirement, and since there are various personnel issues, we plan to convene the Personnel Committee within this month to ensure there are no problems with the regular personnel changes in the second half of the year."