Changwon City Council Personnel Committee Canceled Again ... Chair Son to File Complaint Against Democratic Party

The Personnel Committee, which was set to review promotion evaluations at the Secretariat of the Changwon Special City Council in Gyeongnam, was ultimately unable to convene due to a lack of quorum.

According to the Changwon City Council and related sources, the Personnel Committee meeting scheduled for the afternoon of the 24th was canceled because the absence of several members meant the quorum required for a decision was not met.

The Changwon City Council Personnel Committee consists of seven members: five external members and two internal members who are staff of the council's secretariat.

Changwon Special City Council, Gyeongnam.
Photo by Se-ryung Lee

The committee was originally supposed to meet on the 17th to review five candidates for promotion, from grade 4 to grade 8, scheduled to take effect on July 1.

However, on that day, the Democratic Party city council members expressed their opposition for about an hour, and some committee members were unable to enter the meeting room. As a result, the requirement for a majority of members to be present was not met, and the meeting did not take place.

Afterward, the committee was scheduled to reconvene on the 24th, but it was again canceled after some members unexpectedly announced their absence due to personal reasons and other circumstances.

It is currently unclear whether the Personnel Committee will be able to reconvene in the future.

The Democratic Party city council members are protesting, arguing that with the election of the 5th new council chair imminent, it would undermine fairness and equity if outgoing 4th council chair Son Tae-hwa were to carry out personnel appointments just before the end of his term.

The city council members stated, "Regular personnel appointments on July 1 fall under the authority of the incoming 5th chair," and pointed out, "There have been internal suggestions that certain individuals have already been designated for promotion, so the outgoing personnel appointments could be viewed as so-called 'reward appointments' for specific people."

Chair Son Tae-hwa countered, stating that personnel appointments are the exclusive authority of the local council chair under the Local Public Officials Act, and that this round of promotions, which should have been carried out in January, was delayed until late June due to circumstances within Changwon City.

Chair Son also argued, "When I took over as chair for the second half of the term, I followed through with the promotion decisions made by the previous chair and only made changes to other positions. The current promotions are simply in line with the personnel plan established two years ago under relevant laws and regulations; they are not 'reward appointments.'"

He went on to say, "The Democratic Party's actions to prevent the Personnel Committee from convening constitute obstruction of special official duties," and announced plans to file a criminal complaint and hold a press conference regarding the matter.

Chair Son is planning to submit a criminal complaint against the Democratic Party council members on the morning of the 25th and hold a press conference at the Changwon City Hall press center in the afternoon.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.