On November 12, Kang Hoonshik, Chief Presidential Secretary, stated, "We will handle the rules for audit affairs within this year and amend the Board of Audit and Inspection Act in the first half of next year to abolish policy audits." He added, "We will eliminate the fear of audits and support public officials so they can work with conviction for the people."
Chief Secretary Kang made these remarks during an announcement of the 'Achievements in Enhancing Public Service Vitality and Future Plans for Strengthening Public Service Competency' at the Presidential Office in Yongsan that afternoon. The Presidential Office had previously pledged in July to pursue five major initiatives: abolishing policy audits, conducting prudent investigations into abuse of authority charges, improving working conditions and expanding rewards for public officials, and a complete overhaul of the on-call duty system.
Regarding the abuse of authority charge, Kang explained, "On July 29, the Minister of Justice instructed the prosecution to investigate abuse of authority charges with caution. Since then, there have been only two related indictments." He continued, "We are also pursuing amendments to the Criminal Act to clarify the requirements for abuse of authority charges," and emphasized, "We will ensure that this charge is not misused as a tool for political retaliation."
Kang also highlighted, "We have doubled the allowances for public officials responsible for safety and life, and increased the base salary for junior military officers by up to 6.6%."
Other achievements presented included the establishment of a new future preparation savings plan, the complete abolition of central government on-call rooms in April next year, the full expansion of remote on-call duty, the introduction of an artificial intelligence (AI) system for nighttime civil service requests, and the creation of a special performance bonus system for public officials, with bonuses of up to 30 million won per person.
The Presidential Office also announced five additional initiatives to strengthen public service competency, including adapting to the era of AI transformation. Kang stated, "We will establish a two-track personnel management plan to dramatically enhance public sector expertise," and mentioned, "We will improve frequent personnel transfers caused by job rotation and introduce a specialized track for fields requiring a high level of expertise."
Other initiatives included revitalizing the open recruitment system to provide opportunities for outstanding private sector talent to enter public service, improving the promotion system based on performance and achievements, reforming public official training to focus on problem-solving, and establishing a management system for overseas networks.
Kang concluded, "We will once again prepare and announce concrete plans for the five initiatives within 100 days," and stated, "We will complete the revision of personnel-related laws and expand necessary financial support by the first half of next year."
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