Public officials in Gangdong District, Seoul, will be able to work in shorts and sandals for both men and women this summer, unless there are special circumstances. This aims to save energy and improve work efficiency. Such practices are not common among public officials, as Changwon City in Gyeongsangnam-do allowed work in shorts but stopped it three years ago.
Gangdong District announced on the 14th that it will implement 'simplification of public officials' attire' from this month until September to protect public servants' health and create an efficient work environment amid ongoing heat waves.
This is in accordance with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's recommendation for 'simplification of public officials' attire during summer.' The ministry notified central ministries and local governments in 2011 to actively promote the 'simplification of public officials' attire and flexible working hours.'
In this notice, the 'simple and neat attire' that public officials can wear during summer includes examples such as ▲ a suit without a tie, ▲ a short-sleeve shirt, ▲ a collar shirt for tops, and ▲ formal trousers, ▲ cotton trousers for bottoms.
However, the Ministry of Personnel Management recommended in 2015 that public officials' summer attire should be 'simple and neat enough not to harm their dignity.' It also stated that 'there should be no instances where clothing that is too revealing, ripped jeans, or slippers causes complaints from citizens or lowers the public officials' status.'
Gangdong District has allowed public officials to work in shorts and sandals as long as there are no official schedules such as public service or ceremonial events, in line with these criteria. A district official explained, 'Every summer, the government sends out notices to simplify attire, but as public officials, everyone ends up just not wearing ties,' adding, 'Many employees have been wondering whether they can wear shorts, so we sent out a notice and promoted it.'
The indoor temperature at public offices during the summer must be maintained at 26 degrees Celsius. This means that the air conditioning cannot be set below 26 degrees, and when heat waves are severe and power is scarce, it can be raised to 28 degrees. Thus, many public officials report feeling hot while working indoors in the summer. Lee Soo-hee, the head of Gangdong District Office, expressed her hope that 'dressing coolly in the heat will practically help lower individuals' perceived temperature and protect work concentration and health.'
There are already places that have implemented 'working in shorts.' Gyeonggi Gwangmyeong City allowed all employees to work in comfortable attire, including shorts, from 2023 as part of a summer casual dress campaign.
However, it is rare for local governments to allow working in shorts. Changwon City in Gyeongsangnam-do had a policy to permit 'working in shorts' from 2019 to 2021 but discontinued it in 2022.
A source from Changwon City noted, 'We didn’t feel it was necessary to officially announce the 'working in shorts' policy to the employees,' adding, 'Currently, the overall employee attire has become much simpler.' They continued, 'It's not that we told them not to wear shorts. However, there are also men who have a lot of leg hair, and even in the past, the number of male employees wearing shorts was less than a quarter.'
A male public official in his 40s, who appeared in a video titled 'How far can public officials' work attire go?' released by the Ministry of Personnel Management last year, stated, 'I don’t think shorts are appropriate as work attire. I don’t want to see other male employees' leg hair.'