A former member of Gwangju FC, who was dismissed for embezzlement, was hired as secretary to Jeonnam Gwangju Unified Special Mayor Min Hyeong-bae, and the former Gwangsan-gu Office chief of staff, who was sentenced to prison on bribery charges, applied for a public contest for the position of head of the external cooperation headquarters of the integrated city, leading to ongoing personnel controversy around Mayor Min.
A person with a history of bribery was subject to judicial punishment after it was revealed that Mayor Min had accepted bribes while working as chief of staff during his time as head of Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju. There are voices calling for fundamental measures to be taken, such as strengthening qualification standards for collusion and special official positions.
According to the Gwangju Unified City of Jeonnam on the 12th, Mr. A, who served as Chief of Staff to Mayor Min when he was serving as the head of Gwangsan-gu, recently applied for a contest for the head of the External Cooperation Headquarters of the Unified City.
The head of the External Cooperation Headquarters is at the level of a local deputy director and stays in Seoul. He coordinates major pending issues of the integrated city with the government, the National Assembly, and the political circles, and is in charge of external cooperation work.
The Unified City plans to conduct a review of multiple applicants, including Mr. A, and announce the final successful candidates at the end of this month.
The reason why Mr. A's application is causing concern both inside and outside the integrated city is because of his history of judicial handling.
Mr. A, who worked as the chief secretary to the Gwangsan-gu mayor, was put on trial on charges of receiving 38 million won on nine occasions from October 2014 to February 2016 along with a request to facilitate a government-supplied material supply contract from a lighting equipment company.
In February 2017, the Gwangju District Court sentenced Mr. A to three years in prison, a fine of 40 million won, and an additional fine of 38 million won.
Although Mr. A was sentenced to imprisonment or heavier punishment, it was reported that he could apply for the public offering for the head of the External Cooperation Headquarters during the merger after the 5-year period of disqualification for appointment as a civil servant.
Mr. A said in a phone call with Yonhap News, “I saw a job posting for the head of the External Cooperation Headquarters, so I thought it was a field I could excel in and applied.”
An official from the integrated city explained, “If there are any disqualifying reasons, you will be disqualified from applying,” and added, “Although it is a publicly offered position, we plan to review it according to the civil servant appointment procedure.”
Previously, the Unified City hired Mr. B, who was dismissed for embezzlement while working at Gwangju FC, as Mayor Min's secretary (a special position equivalent to level 6) in July, which drew opposition from the public servants' union, and some political circles called for a reexamination.
In 2024, while working at Gwangju FC, Mr. B was dismissed for stealing a portion of the money for season tickets sold to parents of youth teams. He was sentenced to a fine on charges of embezzlement, and is known to have worked as an attendant during Mayor Min's time as a member of the National Assembly.
As the past history of misconduct by Mayor Min's key associates and assistants has been revealed one after another, concerns have arisen about their morality and ethics in public office.
There are also voices demanding that qualification standards be strengthened and a strong personnel verification system established for public, special, contract, etc. who work as the group leader's closest associates.
It is pointed out that the head of the external cooperation headquarters must contact key officials such as central ministries on behalf of the integrated city, and the executive secretary must also assist the mayor in the position closest to him, so a high level of morality and public service ethics is required.
Park Moon-ok (Democratic Party of Korea, Mokpo 3), a Jeonnam Gwangju city council member, said, "You have to give a greeting that is at the level of the citizens in order to empathize with them, but it is not appropriate to give a grateful greeting just because you are a close associate." He added, "As external cooperation work requires contacting people in various fields on behalf of the mayor, we need to select the right person."
Ki Woo-sik, secretary general of the Gwangju Citizens' Association Council, also expressed concern, saying, "Citizens expect high morality and integrity from public officials who receive taxes, but it is highly inappropriate for a person who has made personal gains to apply for a public office," and added, "If he is hired, he will face strong criticism."
He continued, “It is necessary to apply stricter moral standards when hiring close associates to public office, even in the interest of establishing discipline in the public service community.”
