Last year, the number of public officials granted dual employment approvals decreased, yet the number of violations related to profit-making activities and dual employment prohibitions more than doubled. Half of the violators were from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. The Ministry of Personnel Management has been criticized for leaving the specific types of violations and detection methods to individual agencies, indicating a need for a centralized management system to adapt to changes in dual employment activities within the public sector.
On October 6, Kwon Young-jin, a member of the National Assembly from the People Power Party, revealed data from the Ministry of Personnel Management showing that 132 public officials violated profit-making and dual employment prohibitions last year. This figure represents an 8.8-fold increase from 15 in 2021 and a 2.2-fold increase from 60 in 2024.
In contrast, the number of public officials granted dual employment approvals last year was 3,867, down by 162 (4.0%) from 4,029 the previous year. The number of approvals also decreased from 4,982 to 4,869 during the same period. Despite the decline in both the number of approvals and cases, violations surged significantly.
By agency, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety saw a notable increase in violations, rising from 4 in 2024 to 66 last year, accounting for half of all violations. Of the 72 additional violators last year, 62 were from this ministry. Other agencies with violations included the National Police Agency with 17, the Ministry of Employment and Labor with 12, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs with 11.
Over the past five years, the trend in the public sector shows that the number of individuals granted dual employment approvals has more than doubled. The number of approvals rose from 1,820 in 2021 to 3,867 last year, while the number of approvals increased by 88.1%, from 2,589 to 4,869. This figure includes instances where individuals received multiple dual employment approvals.
In terms of types of dual employment, there was a significant rise in approvals for real estate leasing and personal broadcasting/blogging. Real estate leasing approvals increased from 75 in 2021 to 545 last year, approximately 7.3 times, while personal broadcasting and blogging approvals rose from 31 to 125, about four times.
Last year, the most common type of dual employment approval was for positions in public organizations and academic societies, totaling 2,247 cases. This was followed by 777 cases for university adjunct professors and 599 for consulting and research in public organizations.
Disciplinary actions related to violations also increased. The number of disciplinary actions for violations of profit-making and dual employment obligations rose from 16 in 2021 to 43 last year, marking a 65.4% increase from the previous year and the highest number in the past five years. The breakdown of last year's disciplinary actions included 27 reprimands, 10 salary reductions, 4 suspensions, and 2 dismissals, with reprimands and salary reductions accounting for 86.0% of the total.
Despite the increase in both violators and disciplinary actions, there are limitations in the government's ability to comprehensively assess the detailed status of these violations. This is because specific types of violations, detection methods, and cancellation of approvals are managed individually by each agency rather than centrally by the Ministry of Personnel Management. Additionally, the operation of dual employment review committees and reasons for cancellation of approvals are not managed uniformly at the central level.
Kwon stated, "The public sector can see an increase in various activities such as teaching, writing, consulting, and personal broadcasting in response to changing times, and it is not a problem to question the legitimacy of approved dual employment itself." He added, "However, given the extent of these changes, it is necessary to analyze what issues are arising across the government rather than simply leaving approvals and management to each department. This is not about stopping multiple jobs but about creating a management system suitable for the era of multiple jobs." He emphasized the need for a centralized management system that connects approvals, inspections, violations, and post-actions, even if the authority for dual employment approvals remains with individual agencies, with prompt reporting every six months and immediate reporting of serious violations.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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