Public Officials Federation Meets Deputy Director of Personnel Innovation Department to Discuss Key Issues

Calls for Improvement in Performance Evaluation of Work-Time Exempt Employees
and Restoration of Basic Political Rights

The Korean Federation of Public Officials Trade Unions (Chairman Shin Donggeun) announced on January 6 that it held a meeting with the newly appointed Deputy Director of the Personnel Innovation Department, Kim Sunghoon, at its Yeouido office to discuss key issues such as improving the treatment of work-time exempt employees and restoring the basic political rights of public officials.

Kim Sunghoon, Deputy Director of the Personnel Department, and Shin Donggeun, Chairman of the Public Officials Federation (right in the photo), are exchanging greetings. Provided by the Public Officials Federation.

Chairman Shin Donggeun pointed out that, regarding the “Application Plan for Personnel Management of Work-Time Exempt Public Officials” recently provided by the Personnel Innovation Department to local governments, work-time exempt employees could be subject to disadvantageous performance evaluations. He especially emphasized that the standard requiring the average of the previous two evaluations to be applied if the period of actual work during the evaluation period is less than one month could result in unfair outcomes in practice.

The Federation called for the establishment of reasonable performance evaluation standards, such as applying at least the highest evaluation from the past two years or the average for the same rank and job series; addressing the issue of filling vacancies resulting from the designation of work-time exempt employees; and the need to prepare clear interpretive guidelines regarding “general managers” and similar terms under the Public Officials Trade Union Act.

The Federation also requested government-level cooperation to ensure the swift passage of the bill to restore the basic political rights of public officials, which was introduced in December last year. This bill includes amendments to the National (Local) Public Officials Act, the Political Parties Act, the Political Funds Act, and the Public Officials (Teachers) Trade Union Act.

In addition, the Federation emphasized the need for the prompt submission to the National Assembly of the amendment to the Public Officials Act, which completely revises the duty of obedience so that public officials may refuse to follow unlawful orders from superiors, as well as the swift passage of the “Amendment to the Public Officials Act” currently pending in the National Assembly to protect public officials responsible for civil complaints.

The Federation stated, “Protecting the rights and interests of public officials and establishing a fair personnel system are the starting points for restoring trust in the public sector,” and urged the government to actively reflect the voices from the field in improving the system.