Gwangju City Council Member Lee Gwisoon Criticizes "Parachute Appointment Prevention" as Mere Show (Comprehensive)

Personnel Appointments at City-Affiliated Organizations Remain Opaque
Only 10 Out of 29 Institutions Apply Synchronized Terms
City: "Not Subject to Employment Review... Regret Over Disparagement"

Lee Gwisoon, Gwangju City Council Member.

On September 1, Lee Gwisoon, a member of the Gwangju City Council (Democratic Party of Korea, Gwangsan District 4), raised concerns about potential violations of the Public Officials Ethics Act and suspicions of "parachute appointments" during the recent selection process for CEOs of Gwangju’s affiliated organizations, during a question session at the 336th temporary meeting of the Administrative Autonomy Committee.

Lee criticized, "Mayor Kang Gijung claims through social media and city hall banners that 'Gwangju is already implementing an ordinance to prevent parachute appointments of public institution heads,' but in reality, only 10 out of 29 affiliated organizations-including public corporations, foundations, and institutions-are actually subject to the synchronized term system. From the citizens' perspective, it still appears that parachute appointments are taking place."

She specifically pointed out that a director from the Autonomy Administration Bureau applied for the CEO position at the Gwangju Urban Regeneration Community Center, a foundation affiliated with the city, while still in office, stating, "There are inevitable suspicions that the position was effectively secured even before the honorary retirement."

She continued, "Article 17 of the Public Officials Ethics Act stipulates a three-year employment restriction for retired public officials at institutions closely related to their previous departments. Since this institution is affiliated with the Autonomy Administration Bureau, it is clearly subject to employment review, so it is necessary to verify whether such a review was conducted before the board appointment process," raising procedural concerns.

Lee emphasized, "The 'parachute appointment prevention' system highlighted by Mayor Kang is only applied to some organizations in practice, while the rest remain nontransparent. To fulfill the purpose of the system, its scope should be expanded to all institutions, and management and supervision of retired officials’ employment at affiliated organizations must be strengthened."

In response, on the same day, Gwangju City issued an official statement clarifying, "The center in question is not an affiliated organization of the Autonomy Administration Bureau, but rather an institution under the Urban Space Bureau, and is therefore not subject to employment review."

The city added, "We have not yet confirmed the specific details," and stressed, "While we supervise the operation of the Urban Regeneration Community Center, we are not directly involved in the CEO selection process."

The city further explained, "Of the 29 public institutions, all 11 organizations where the terms of the institution head and the mayor can legally and institutionally be synchronized are implementing this system. It is fundamentally impossible for an administrative agency to force term synchronization in violation of laws and regulations." The city also expressed deep regret that "a Gwangju City Council member has disparaged the Gwangju municipal administration, which is regarded as a model nationwide."