The Office of the South Korean President has mobilised a team of officials to conduct service inspections of all Ministries.
The move follows criticism of the lack of discipline in the Public Service following controversy over the troubled Saemangeum World Scout Jamboree in early August.
According to a Government source, officials will visit Ministries to examine work discipline and irregularities.
“Given the recent concerns that the Public Service has become lax, this inspection is intended to inject tension into each Ministry and create an atmosphere wherein Public Servants focus on national tasks from September onward,” the source said.
The source said many Public Servants were nervous because the Presidential Office itself was taking the initiative instead of the usual service inspection conducted by the Office of Government Policy Coordination at the Prime Minister’s Office.
The heavy rains in mid-July, which caused significant casualties, and the fiasco of the Jamboree (pictured), crippled by a heatwave, looming typhoon, a COVID-19 outbreak and allegations of mismanagement, had resulted in mounting criticism from both inside and outside the Government about passive public administration and laxity in the bureaucracy.
The Presidential Office will reportedly use the service inspection to check whether the national tasks that each Ministry is responsible for are being carried out speedily.
The fiasco has already resulted in the replacement of Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy, Lee Chang-yang. Observers said further reshuffles are likely.
“The mission of the Secretary to the President for Civil Service Discipline is to support Ministries so that national tasks can be implemented properly while they strictly comply with public integrity,” an official from the Presidential Office said.
Seoul, 31 August 2023
