South Korean Prime Minister, Chung Sye-kyun has awarded a series of commemorative plates to outstanding Public Servants, symbolising what he described as his ‘plate theory’.
The plates were given to a number of officials within the Prime Minister’s Office as a reward for “proactive administration”.
Recipients include the COVID-19 response team and officials who developed ideas for enabling the public to attend religious services while maintaining social distancing via online and drive-in services.
Also rewarded were those who played a central role in resolving issues surrounding one-year passports, issued to men over the age of 25 who had not carried out mandatory national service, which were not recognised in 43 countries.
The term ‘plate theory’ was coined following Mr Chung’s inauguration speech earlier this year in which he compared making mistakes to breaking plates to emphasise that the Public Service must be proactive.
In the speech, Mr Chung said “breaking a plate in the process of working can be accepted, but plates gathering dust because no work is being done cannot”.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, the award will be expanded to include the entire Public Service, Local Governments and State-run organisations.
Mr Chung has also called on Government bodies to reward Public Servants who meet his proactive administration criteria through promotions and other measures.
Seoul, 8 July 2020
