[National Inside | Jeonbuk – Public Officials Status] Jeonbuk Aims for “Top Integrity Level”… Still at Level 3 for 3 Years, Urgent Need for Reform

[Cheonji Ilbo Jeonbuk=Reporter Kim Dong-hyun] Three years into the 8th civil administration, criticisms remain that Jeonbuk’s public sector reform is still at a standstill. In a nationwide corruption perception survey by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC), distrust in the public sector remained high, with Jeonbuk staying at Level 3 (average) for overall integrity for three consecutive years. Especially with repeated misconduct by high-ranking officials, power abuse, and budget irregularities, the provincial council is calling for “fundamental reform beyond corrective measures.”

◆Repeated misconduct by high-ranking officials

In recent years, misconduct across Jeonbuk’s public sector has been unceasing. One spokesperson’s office employee was caught secretly spending KRW 14 million in advertising funds just before retirement and illegally claiming overtime pay via proxy entry, resulting in heavy disciplinary action and referral for prosecution. Another employee approved advertising funds based on illegal solicitation, leading to a KRW 9.44 million clawback and severe disciplinary measures with prosecution.

In 2024, workplace abuse by senior officials was exposed in audits. One bureau director repeatedly verbally abused a staff member over leave usage, while a division head was severely disciplined for private instructions, disregard, and sexual remarks. Among department heads and team leaders, incidents of demeaning language, overseas junkets, and illegal allowance claims also resulted in light to heavy disciplinary action.

In the second half of the year, cases of budget misuse, information leaks, abuse of authority, and embezzlement were also found, leading to dismissals and suspensions.

◆Provincial council calls for structural reform, not correction

The provincial council has criticized that “lenient corrective measures are ineffective” in addressing annually repeated misconduct. During administrative audits, the fairness of disciplinary standards and reprimand-centered practices of the audit committee were questioned.

Assembly member Oh Hyun-sook stated, “Victims leave while perpetrators remain, which goes against improving integrity,” while Kim Jeong-su noted that “80-90% of disciplinary cases end with mere reprimand,” urging stricter standards. Assembly member Yeom Yeong-seon pointed out the lack of audit authority over entrusted agencies and demanded expanded audit powers.

In the 2024 audit, a reprimand for power abuse by the provincial art museum director drew criticism as “protecting one’s own.” Assembly member Lee Soo-jin criticized light penalties for conflicts of interest, Kang Tae-chang emphasized the need for continuous monitoring and special audit systems, Kim Seul-ji called for name disclosure principles and stronger punishment, and Han Jeong-su pointed out the need to strengthen human rights sensitivity in the audit committee.

Audit Committee Chair Yang Chung-mo stated, “Special audits result in heavy discipline but institutional audits end with reprimands,” pledging “stricter responses to serious cases going forward.”

◆Aiming for top integrity, launching comprehensive measures

Jeonbuk has established a “Public Discipline Establishment and Organizational Innovation Plan” to strengthen public sector discipline. The plan includes constant monitoring of senior officials, stricter recruitment screening, vulnerability assessments of policies, building cooperation systems with the council, and operating an internal advisory “Red Team.”

Efforts to enhance integrity practice are also underway. Governor Kim Kwan-young and the public officials’ union signed a “Joint Integrity Practice Pledge,” while the Audit Committee established three major strategies and 45 detailed tasks covering anti-corruption infrastructure and integrity culture expansion. The province also appointed 56 citizen auditors to expand on-site monitoring roles.

Governor Kim said, “We conducted ‘mind reset training’ for 110 senior officials in the first half and designated dedicated staff for the abuse reporting center to establish a constant response system,” adding, “All departments will work together to reach top-level integrity.”

◆Integrity perception gap between public and officials

According to ACRC’s 2024 corruption perception survey, 57.1% of citizens said “our society is corrupt.” Figures rose across experts (53.8%), businesspeople (43.6%), foreigners (14.5%), and public officials themselves (12.8%) from the previous year, with the expert group seeing a 10.9%p jump.

Public perception of corruption among officials was high at 35.5% (citizens) and 36.1% (experts), while officials’ self-perception was only 3.1%, showing a stark gap. ACRC stated, “The gap between internal experience and external perception is a task for restoring trust in clean administration.”

In the 2024 public sector integrity assessment, the average score was 80.3 points, down 0.2 points from the previous year. External integrity scored 86.9, but internal integrity fell to 60.8, down 2.5 points. Scores were particularly low for special favors (53.4), power abuse (59.9), and HR violations (61.1). Internal corruption experience rate stood at 2.18%, more than five times the external rate (0.40%).

For anti-corruption measures, respondents prioritized “stronger punishment of corruption” and “expansion of oversight on senior officials.” This reflects nationwide distrust and demands for improvement, indicating Jeonbuk is no exception.

◆Council: “Red Team has limits… must supplement with formal body”

The council remains skeptical about the effectiveness of advisory bodies like the Red Team. Assembly member Kim Seul-ji said, “Composed only of internal staff, the Red Team risks being misunderstood as an inspection body,” and argued, “Existing bodies like the Audit Committee and Secretariat already have similar functions; strengthening a formal inspection body is necessary.”

Assembly member Jeong Jong-bok added, “Three cases of senior official misconduct have emerged since the 8th administration began, undermining provincial governance trust,” stressing the need for a step-by-step response system from incident recognition to successor appointments.

In response, Governor Kim clarified, “The Red Team is a temporary advisory body without audit powers, serving as an internal discussion group rather than an inspection or audit function.”

The council concluded that to prevent repeated misconduct by senior officials, institutional support beyond declarations is urgently needed. Lawmakers emphasized that Jeonbuk must realize genuine clean administration through strengthened audits, fair personnel management, and a zero-tolerance principle, rather than just lip service to integrity.