Gyeonggi Province has decided to postpone its regular second-half personnel reshuffle by five months to next January to restructure projects and reorganize its administrative structure.

The province announced the plan on the 21st through a notice regarding changes to the personnel schedule.

In the notice, the province stated, "We originally planned to carry out the second-half personnel reshuffle sometime in August or September, but we are changing the schedule because organizational restructuring is necessary—such as streamlining similar and overlapping projects through organizational diagnosis and dismantling administrative barriers."

It further explained, "Carrying out a personnel reshuffle before organizational restructuring raises concerns over inefficiencies in organization and personnel management, such as short-term reassignments, making it necessary to link the restructuring with the personnel changes."

Consequently, personnel appointments for senior officials ranging from Grade 2 to Grade 5, from deputy heads and bureau directors down to team leaders, will take place next January.

For employees at Grade 6 and below, promotions and transfers will be minimized except for filling vacancies, and promotions from Grade 6 to Grade 5 will be put on hold.

A senior official at Gyeonggi Province remarked, "This is the first time I have ever seen a regular second-half personnel reshuffle delayed to the first half of the following year. It seems many employees find it difficult to understand the reasoning behind suspending the regular reshuffle on the grounds that organizational restructuring comes first."

The Gyeonggi Provincial Government Civil Servants Union issued a statement saying, "What employees who have long awaited promotions and transfers are feeling right now is a sense of emptiness and loss from feeling disrespected by the organization." They added, "If Governor Choo Mi-ae does not apologize for this half-baked personnel decision and present prompt normalization measures, we will take strong action together with all union members."

(Photo provided by Gyeonggi Province, Yonhap News)