[IT Cafe] "Even the top civil service exam scorer came because it was in Seoul"... Reassuring employees at the Personal Information Protection Commission and Broadcasting and Media Communications Commission

Personal Information Protection Commission to hold meeting with employees on 15
"Dismayed by move to Sejong"... concerns over staff departures too

Song Kyunghee, chairperson of the Personal Information Protection Commission.

"Some employees are even making Plan B arrangements before moving to Sejong. They say they are holding a meeting with employees today, but it feels like a mere formality."

Employees of the Broadcasting Media and Communications Commission and the Personal Information Protection Commission, government central administrative agencies whose relocation to Sejong was confirmed for the first half of next year, are struggling to hide their dismay. After the two agencies were included in the first-half-of-next-year relocation plan, complaints that the move was "sooner than expected" poured in. The Personal Information Protection Commission will hold a meeting with employees on the afternoon of October 15 in an effort to reassure them.

An official at the Personal Information Protection Commission said, "I chose the agency because I believed personal information protection would become even more important in the AI and digital era, but honestly, its location in Seoul was a major factor in my decision," adding, "Nothing, including housing, has been prepared, and now we suddenly have to move to Sejong. I'm overwhelmed." Another commission employee said, "Employees who are close to retirement will seriously consider moving to law firms and other workplaces," adding, "Some employees are also starting to consider changing jobs based on their individual circumstances."

Employees of the Broadcasting Media and Communications Commission, also included in the relocation plan, are likewise unsettled. Complaints have been particularly widespread among employees who chose the commission, located in Gwacheon, to accommodate their school-age children. One employee said, "My child is in middle or high school, so it would be difficult for my family to move together just because the agency is relocating to Sejong now," adding, "I would have to commute to Sejong on my own, and it's true that I'm concerned because the move is happening sooner than planned." Civil servants whose agencies are set to move to Sejong had generally expected that they would eventually have to relocate, but with the move coming sooner than anticipated, many were busy making preparations. Some, however, seemed resigned to the move, saying, "The inevitable has happened," and that they would calmly prepare for it.

Employees who transferred from the Ministry of Science and ICT to the Broadcasting Media and Communications Commission when it was launched in October last year also expressed dismay. As part of an organizational restructuring, the unit responsible for broadcasting promotion moved from Sejong to Gwacheon last year, but it is now set to return to Sejong. One employee said, "I chose the commission because it was in Gwacheon, but now I'm going to Sejong after all," adding, "Commuting to Seoul is unavoidable for my child's education." Under the government's plan to relocate central administrative agencies to Sejong, about 1,000 employees from six agencies are scheduled to move in the first half of next year: the Broadcasting Media and Communications Commission (301), the Personal Information Protection Commission (224), the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (134), the Overseas Koreans Agency (157), the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (231), and the National Education Commission (54).

Some analysts say the move to Sejong could change the popularity of government ministries. Last year, a civil servant who ranked first in both the national civil service examination (Grade 5 open recruitment) and the legislative examination chose the Personal Information Protection Commission as their first agency, attracting attention and prompting remarks that the choice was unusual. One civil servant said, "Recently, the popular choices included agencies based in Seoul, such as the Personal Information Protection Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Unification, and the Ministry of National Defense. The Ministry of National Defense, in particular, was a top choice for women civil servants because of its location," adding, "If most ministries are based in Sejong in the future, the most popular agencies are likely to change." 

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