[Gyeonggi Province Audit] Choo Miae and Lee Haesik Clash over Delayed Appointments: "Personnel Is Everything" vs. "Review First"

Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Miae and Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Lee Hae-sik clashed on October 13 over delays in personnel appointments for Gyeonggi Provincial Government officials at Grade 5 or above during a parliamentary audit of the province.

Lee focused on the harm caused by the delay. "More than 1,130 people work at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government from Grade 5 to Grade 2, and they are anxious because they don't know what will happen with personnel appointments," he said. "For employees, receiving a performance evaluation and being promoted is the most important thing. Personnel is everything."

"You should be inspiring employees, but by not making appointments now, you're pouring cold water on them," he continued. "Employee morale has fallen considerably. You need to consider each person's difficulties and recognize how much harm it causes not to make appointments."

Choo Mi-ae, governor of Gyeonggi Province, takes an oath at the National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee's audit of the province on the 13th. Courtesy of Gyeonggi Province.

Lee also pressed her on when the appointments would be made, saying, "It is harsh to put off personnel decisions affecting the futures of around 1,000 people for six months, until next January." He added, "This has financial and psychological effects. How can it help the provincial administration? Everyone should unite around the governor, and the fiscal crisis must also be overcome through personnel appointments. I just don't understand."

Governor Choo acknowledged that "personnel appointments for employees are important," but explained that "appointments have so far been completed only through Grade 6."

"This is an emergency situation caused by the fiscal crisis," Choo said. "Someone has to understand the work to explain it, and we also need the provincial council's understanding, so we have not made appointments for Grade 5 or above. Continuity of work is also necessary." She promised to proceed "after reviewing overlapping responsibilities and evaluations."

Choo added, "We will downsize the organization and, subject to approval by the provincial council, make appointments around January next year. This is what we decided after concluding that we needed to conduct a thorough review. The senior officials also understand the situation to some extent."

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