"One Hour of a Public Official Equals 52 Million Hours"... Government Orders Minimization of Business Trips and Events [Government News In]

President Lee Jaemyung Stresses the Need to Improve Public Service Culture
Government Ministries, Including the Ministry of Economy and Finance and Ministry of the Interior and Safety,
Instructed to Minimize Business Trips and Attendance at External Events

As President Lee Jaemyung continues to emphasize the need to improve the culture of public service, the government has also launched efforts to strengthen discipline within the public sector. The government stated, "One hour of a public official's time is worth 52 million hours for the entire nation," and has begun internal measures such as urging public officials to refrain from external activities and minimize business trips.

According to relevant ministries on the 25th, the Ministry of Personnel Management sent an official document titled "Service Standards for Realizing a Competent, Performance-Oriented Public Service" to government ministries including the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. The Ministry of Personnel Management explained that "in order for the government to achieve results amid difficult internal and external conditions, such as tariff negotiations with the United States and the impact of heavy rainfall, it is essential for public officials to focus on their work," and distributed this document accordingly.

Such service standards are usually issued after major incidents or accidents, but it appears that the recent reiteration by President Lee of the importance of strict rewards and penalties within the public sector has prompted these internal controls. The government first instructed civil servants to refrain from attending events. Attendance at external events will only be permitted when the policy purpose is clear, such as fulfilling national policy tasks, and participation in events of a purely ceremonial nature, such as delivering congratulatory speeches or presenting awards, should be avoided.

Minimizing business trips was also emphasized. Business trips will only be allowed for unavoidable purposes, such as on-site inspections related to public welfare, disaster response, or international conferences in the national interest, and the number of personnel and institutions involved should be kept to a minimum. The guidelines also encourage the use of video conferencing for meetings. The intention is to minimize physical movement while maintaining communication within the organization. The government stated, "We will actively utilize video conferencing, which can overcome the constraints of time and space, to promote communication within the organization."

The government also issued a message to refrain from most external lectures and institutional visits. External lectures should only be conducted when necessary, such as sharing national policy tasks or explaining policies to the public, and simple special lectures at the request of external organizations should be avoided. In addition, visits to external institutions that are unrelated to one's primary duties or that require an excessive amount of time should also be avoided. However, these guidelines are internal and not mandatory.

Recently, President Lee has been emphasizing the need to improve the organizational culture and systems of the public sector. On July 22, while presiding over a cabinet meeting, President Lee stated, "It is important to reiterate that strict rewards and penalties are truly essential in the public sector," and added, "I want strict action taken against public officials who behave irresponsibly, such as drinking or acting without a plan, at critical sites where citizens are dying." President Lee's remarks appear to be in response to media reports that Baek Kyunghyun, mayor of Guri, and others held a picnic and enjoyed singing and dancing while on emergency duty during heavy rainfall.

On July 24, President Lee also presided over a meeting of senior aides and announced plans to promote five key tasks for improving the culture of public service. These include abolishing policy audits, conducting careful investigations of abuse of authority cases, improving the treatment and rewards for public officials, and a complete overhaul of the duty system, so that public officials can work more creatively and proactively.