Gwangju Public Officials Union: "Administrative Integration Driven Only by Efficiency and Economics... Personnel Rights Must Be Guaranteed"

On the morning of the 15th, the National Public Officials Labor Union Gwangju Office of Education Branch, Gwangju City Branch, Gwangju Fire Department Branch, and the Gwangju Branch of the National Teachers Labor Union held a press conference at the Gwangju City Council titled "Administrative Integration of Educational Autonomy and Separation of Fire Administration, Establishment of Legal Measures to Guarantee Personnel Authority for Teachers and Public Officials."

Public officials, teachers, and firefighter unions in Gwangju have argued that the ongoing administrative integration of Gwangju and Jeonnam is driven solely by administrative efficiency and economic logic, and that institutional safeguards must be established.

The National Public Officials Labor Union Gwangju Office of Education Branch, Gwangju City Branch, Gwangju Fire Department Branch, the Gwangju Teachers Labor Union, and the Gwangju Branch of the National Teachers Labor Union held a press conference at the Gwangju City Council on the morning of the 15th, stating, "The administration, education, and safety of Gwangju must not be reduced to mere political tools for administrative integration," and called for "the immediate establishment of legal safeguards that guarantee the value of education and the safety of citizens."

They emphasized, "The parties directly involved in the integration-city hall, the office of education, teachers, and firefighter public officials-are left in a state of anxiety, not knowing when, where, or how they will be reassigned. The special law must include provisions to maintain pre-integration workplaces and prohibit deterioration of working conditions," and added, "There are currently no measures in place to address the confusion and conflict that will arise from physically merging organizations with different wage systems and promotion structures."

They further pointed out, "Although firefighters' status was changed to national public officials in 2020, their budgets and personnel matters remain subordinated to local governments, making them 'halfway national officials.' Despite disasters not respecting administrative boundaries, this integration discussion is once again attempting to subordinate fire departments to local administrative units. Firefighting should not be a target of regional integration, but rather a 'bastion of safety' for which the nation is responsible."

They also stated, "The current integration discussions do not address 'education.' Only administrative efficiency and economic logic are being considered. The proposed special cases for educational autonomy simply copy examples from other cities and provinces, such as establishing gifted schools or international high schools," and added, "Strengthening so-called 'privileged education' in this way does not create a synergy effect for integration."

Additionally, they stressed, "Legal safeguards must be established to prohibit changes in status and disadvantages in treatment for teachers and public officials resulting from personnel instability," and called for "the separation of fire administration from the integration discussions and the full nationalization of fire department budgets and personnel."