MOGAHA Appointed Officers to the Waiting List

The Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs (MOGAHA) put nine high-ranking fire officials on the waiting list for appointment and nominated their successors as acting officers, which is raising controversy on the large-scale personnel shift.

The MOGAHA on January 12 nominated deputy director of the Chungbuk Fire Department Park Chang-soon as acting director of the Seoul Fire Department, deputy director of Chungnam Fire Defense and Safety Department Lim Yong-bae as acting deputy director of Busan Fire Department, and deputy director of the MOGAHA’s defense division Jae Jin-joo as acting director of the National Fire Service Academy.

In addition, the MOGAHA dispatched three directors (grade 2) and six deputy directors (grade 3) of the fire service department to a newly affiliated research institute of the Fire Service Reform Committee. Among the demoted high-ranking officials were the chiefs of Seoul Fire Department Choi Sung-ryong and Busan Fire Department Kim Chul-jong, and the principal of the National Fire Service Academy Chun Kwang-chul. Eight out of nine officials are the first generation of Fire Department management, and one was hired as a special appointee.

An official of the MOGAHA said, “Current director of fire division in the MOGAHA is actually a commissioner of Fire Department, and he is from the second generation. That being one of the reasons, we determined to make large personnel shifts and change generation in order to vitalize the depressed organization of Fire Department.” He explained that the staff has been complaining of the piling-up of promotions as the first generation has occupied the management for such a long time.

The nine officials dispatched to the research institute had already been requested for honorary retirement by the government in July last year, when the official from younger generation was appointed as a commissioner of Fire Department. However, they refused to accept the request. If these nine demoted officials strongly protested against the MOGAHA’s decision, the aftermath will likely expand.

Jong-Hoon Lee taylor55@donga.com