Yangpyeong County Considers Suspension and Dismissal by Authority for Public Officials Guilty of Deliberate Negligence

Yangpyeong County to Strengthen HR Penalties for Deliberate Work Negligence and Duty Avoidance
Protecting Diligent Employees; Step-by-Step Management for Repeated Neglect
Fostering a Fair Organizational Culture and Responsible Administration to Improve Service Quality

Yangpyeong County in Gyeonggi Province, led by County Governor Jeon Jinseon, has unveiled strong measures to eradicate deliberate neglect of work and avoidance of duties among public officials. For those who repeatedly shirk their responsibilities or fail to comply with legitimate instructions, the county will not only reflect this in their performance evaluations but will also consider position suspension and dismissal based on authority.

Photo by Jomgyeong, Yangpyeong County Office. Provided by Yangpyeong County.

On July 15, Yangpyeong County announced that it will implement the "Plan to Eliminate Deliberate Neglect of Work and Avoidance of Duties." This initiative aims to resolve the issue of honest employees facing disproportionate workloads due to others avoiding work and to establish a fair organizational culture and a sense of accountable administration.

This plan was developed based on a proposal from the Yangpyeong County branch of the Korean Government Employees’ Union. Under the principle of “work must be distributed evenly, and every responsibility must be fulfilled to the end,” the county intends to reasonably allocate work burdens within the organization and improve the quality of administrative services.

The county views behaviors such as unjustified refusal or delay in performing work, repeated shifting of responsibilities, non-compliance with legitimate orders, and failure to change work attitudes despite continuous calls for improvement as main factors that undermine administrative efficiency and increase the workload for diligent employees.

Accordingly, when a case of work negligence occurs, the county will first conduct interviews with the involved employee to assess whether excessive workload, job competency, or the appropriateness of task assignments are at issue. If needed, adjustments in work allocation and job training will be offered. During this process, instructions, compliance, and interview results will all be documented to ensure objectivity and fairness.

If, despite ample opportunity for improvement, deliberate and repeated negligence continues, it will be reflected in the individual’s performance evaluations. Starting in the second half of this year, the county plans to operate a “Grade A Evaluation Committee” to comprehensively review records of performance discussions, job competency, and work attitudes, while also providing the employee with an opportunity to give an explanation.

If no improvement occurs following these steps, the county will consider personnel actions such as position suspension and disciplinary measures in accordance with the relevant laws and procedures. If it is deemed unlikely that the employee’s job performance or work attitude will improve even after suspension, the County Human Resources Committee will review whether to proceed with dismissal by authority.

To enhance fairness and the effectiveness of the system, the county has agreed to cooperate with the labor union. The Yangpyeong County branch of the Korean Government Employees’ Union will participate in staff interviews related to work negligence and in the operation of the Grade A Evaluation Committee.

County Governor Jeon Jinseon stated, “This plan is not intended to disadvantage employees, but to correct the unreasonable practice where burdens fall excessively on those who work diligently,” adding, “We will provide ample counseling, education, and opportunities for improvement, but for repeated and intentional cases of work negligence, responsibility will be enforced through an objective and fair process.”

He added, “By establishing an organizational culture centered on fairness and responsibility, we will raise the quality of administrative services to a level that our residents can truly experience.”

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