President Lee Jae-myung said on the 24th, 'The public service has been apathetic and has often maintained a passive attitude, but we must break this vicious cycle now,' adding, 'We must improve the organizational culture and systems so that civil servants can work creatively and actively.' In response, the Office of the President announced five major tasks to revitalize the public service, with plans to implement key tasks within 100 days.
Kang Hoon, head of the Office of the President, briefed reporters that afternoon at the Yongsan Office of the President, stating, 'When a government changes, rational and necessary administrative executions frequently become the subject of excessive policy audits and investigations,' noting, 'This has caused the public service to be apathetic and maintain a passive attitude, and we must break this vicious cycle now.'
The five tasks announced by the Office of the President to eradicate the vicious cycle in the public service are: ▲ blocking the pitfalls of excessive policy audits and revitalizing proactive administration ▲ carefully investigating and reviewing the prevention of abuse of power ▲ improving the treatment of field civil servants, including those in civil complaints, disaster, and safety duties, as well as lower-ranking military officers ▲ completely reforming the inefficient duty roster system ▲ expanding rewards and promotions for competent civil servants.
The Office of the President stated that it would complete improvements related to abolishing policy audits, reforming systems concerning abuse of power, restructuring the duty roster system, and expanding rewards within the next 100 days. It also noted that issues requiring a budget, such as improving the treatment of field civil servants, enhancing AI capabilities through civil servant training, and expanding civil servant rewards, would be reflected in the 2026 budget proposal.
In particular, there is a policy to pursue legal revisions to prevent the abuse of the crime of abuse of power. Deputy Minister Kang stated, 'We will negotiate with the National Assembly, the Ministry of Justice, and the Legal Affairs Division to pursue the revision of laws related to the crime of abuse of power.' He added, 'We will take strict action against clear misconduct, such as acts of corruption and human rights violations by civil servants.'
To smoothly promote this measure, the Office of the President will form a dedicated task force (TF) headed by the Chief of Civil Affairs. The TF will include the Office of Financial Planning, the Office of Balanced Personnel System, the Office of Autonomous Development, and the Office of Public Service Discipline.
The relevant ministries concerning this public service reform plan are eight agencies: the Board of Audit and Inspection, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Office of the Prime Minister, and the Ministry of Personnel Management.
Deputy Minister Kang expressed, 'With this measure, I hope that civil servants will make policy decisions looking towards the future and work creatively and challengingly,' adding, 'In the future, the Office of the President will continuously identify and carefully promote policy agendas closely related to the lives of the people.'