Severe Departure of Public Officials from Island Regions… 80 Leaving in 5 Years

In Jeonnam's Sinan County, the continuous transfers and resignations of public officials are creating serious administrative gaps.

According to Dong-A Ilbo on the 29th, one official from the personnel department of Sinan County expressed, "Recently, three officials who were hired through the public servant examination quit as soon as they were assigned to the islands. Despite efforts to interview and persuade them, it is difficult to retain young employees."

This official lamented, "Despite various welfare benefits, many are leaving, creating a vicious cycle of labor shortages." The primary reasons identified are the difficulties of living alone on the islands away from family or having to commute long hours by boat.

As per data from Sinan County on the 26th, there have been a total of 80 resignations and transfers to other institutions by public officials from 2020 to the present.

Among these, 42 officials resigned to take positions or for employment exams in other local governments, while 38 were transferred. Notably, over 90% of the resigning officials are female, and it was reported that 15 individuals quit within a month of being assigned to the islands.

Efforts to Address Labor Shortages Face Limits

Sinan County is trying to fill these personnel gaps by hiring temporary workers, but this, too, is proving challenging.

So far this year, 158 job postings for temporary workers have been released, but 63 of these received no applicants or only one, leading to repeated re-posts.

Due to difficulties in securing labor, residents in their 60s and 70s are taking on road maintenance and cleaning tasks in fields like environmental cleaning, wildfire monitoring, and administrative support.

A Sinan County official explained, "Because hiring temporary workers is so difficult, there is a case where a 73-year-old man has been working as a temporary employee at the township office for three years."

Sinan County consists of a total of 1,028 islands, including 77 inhabited islands and 951 uninhabited ones.

Out of 14 towns and villages, only 8 islands, such as Aphae-eup, Jido-eup, and Jeungdo-myeon, are connected to the mainland by land bridges, while the remaining 6 require boat transportation.

Among the total of 778 public officials (with a quota of 818) working at the Sinan County headquarters, subordinate agencies, and townships, 180 officials commute by boat.

Due to the nature of the island region, there are frequent weather changes, and boat services are often interrupted, making it difficult to travel to the mainland for business trips or personal matters. Additionally, the inadequate medical facilities make the area vulnerable in emergencies, it’s tough to enjoy cultural activities, and there are significant challenges regarding children's education.

Need for Realization of Special Employment Allowances

To improve the poor working conditions, Sinan County is expanding employee welfare benefits.

Since last year, the target for guaranteed parental leave time of two hours per day has been expanded from 'children under 5 years old' to 'children up to 6th grade in elementary school.'

Pregnant public officials are offered special maternity leave and a four-day workweek, and those working in town and village offices are provided with official residences and monthly rent support. However, despite these efforts, the number of public officials wishing to transfer continues to increase each year.

Sinan County has stated that the shortage of public officials is escalating into a crisis for local administration, urging the government to devise countermeasures. The most pressing issue is the realization of special employment allowances. These allowances are classified and paid as special district allowances (60,000 won), level A allowances (50,000 won), level B allowances (40,000 won), and level C allowances (30,000 won) for public officials working in areas with inconvenient transportation and insufficient cultural and educational facilities, or in environments with special working conditions.

Currently, only 23 officials from 16 branch offices in Sinan County receive the special employment allowances. The larger issue is that these allowances have not been increased for over 20 years since 2005. Female public officials cite the creation of a conducive learning environment for children as their greatest desire. There are 43 female public officials working in islands that require boat commutes.

One female public official stated, "While the benefits like Monday afternoon commutes and housing provisions are great, what is essential is having conditions that allow me to live and educate my child together." She added, "I hope the government pays attention to policies like childcare facilities or after-school programs within the islands."

Image source: Material photos for understanding the article / gettyimagesbank, Sinan County material photos / News1