Seoul's 25 autonomous districts are facing a 13% shortage of directly employed environmental officials. As the demand for cleaning services and labor costs rise, there is a call for establishing appropriate workforce standards and for the city and districts to share costs more equitably, as discussed at a Seoul City Council forum.
The Seoul City Council announced that Chairman Im Man-kyun hosted a forum on October 6 at the Seoul Museum of Art's Semahall, titled 'Exploring Ways to Secure Adequate Environmental Officials and Financial Sharing for Cooperation between Seoul City and Districts.'
The forum aimed to discuss policy alternatives for securing the necessary workforce to meet cleaning service demands and ensuring stable funding. Attendees included Chairman Im, Vice Chairpersons Seong Heum-je and Lee Seong-bae, Democratic Party representative Lee Sang-hoon, Operations Committee Chair Lee Byeong-do, and 19 other city council members along with officials from the Seoul city government.
In a presentation on 'The Validity of Cleaning Service Demand and Financial Sharing in Seoul,' Council Member Song Yoon-jeong (Democratic Party, proportional representation) reported that as of August this year, there are 2,867 authorized environmental officials in the 25 districts, with 378 positions currently unfilled. She pointed out that the ongoing labor shortage, amid increasing demand for cleaning and environmental services, could lead to excessive overtime and increased workloads for existing workers, raising the risk of industrial accidents.
Song argued that even though the Seoul city government has delegated cleaning responsibilities for national and provincial roads to the districts, it is still obligated to provide financial support according to relevant laws and regulations. She proposed a comprehensive review of the authorized and actual workforce, as well as workload, to establish appropriate workforce standards and to revise the financial sharing structure between the city and districts to reflect changes in local autonomy and financial conditions.
The issue of differing entities responsible for wage determination and cost burdens was also a topic of discussion.
Attorney Kim Gyu-dong from Merit Law Firm noted a structural inconsistency where the districts employ and pay environmental officials, but wage negotiations and related standards are set at the city level. He suggested that Seoul and the districts form a 'Joint Wage Calculation Task Force' to unify the system for calculating and settling unpaid wages, and to establish standards for short- and long-term financial support and cost sharing. He also proposed creating standardized workforce assessment criteria and providing differentiated support based on the financial conditions of each district.
No Nam-gil, the senior vice-chairman of the Seoul City Hall Labor Union, emphasized that environmental officials are responsible for essential tasks in citizens' lives, including street cleaning, large waste disposal, and responding to public inquiries. He explained that a recent Supreme Court ruling in 2024 removed the fixed nature of regular wages, increasing pressure on labor costs.
He warned that if the financial burden falls solely on the districts, it could hinder new hiring and increase the workload and safety risks for existing staff, urging the swift establishment of joint workforce standards and financial sharing systems between the city and districts.
The designated discussion was moderated by Jo Min-seong, director of the Local Economic Green Alliance.
Participants included Council Member Noh Yeon-soo (Democratic Party, Nowon 4), Jungang District Council Operations Committee Chair Ko Gang-seob, Myongji University Professor Kim Young-jae, and Seoul City Living Environment Division Head Park Sang-jun.
Attendees agreed that the financial burden of increased cleaning service demand cannot be solely borne by the districts and emphasized the need for expanded support from the city and the establishment of reasonable cost-sharing standards.
Chairman Im stated, "I hope this discussion will lead to finding standards for sharing costs and responsibilities among the city, districts, and other stakeholders, ensuring that environmental officials can work safely and have adequate rest. The Seoul City Council will fulfill its role and responsibility for stable and sustainable cleaning administration."
The Seoul City Council announced that Chairman Im Man-kyun hosted a forum on October 6 at the Seoul Museum of Art's Semahall, titled 'Exploring Ways to Secure Adequate Environmental Officials and Financial Sharing for Cooperation between Seoul City and Districts.'
The forum aimed to discuss policy alternatives for securing the necessary workforce to meet cleaning service demands and ensuring stable funding. Attendees included Chairman Im, Vice Chairpersons Seong Heum-je and Lee Seong-bae, Democratic Party representative Lee Sang-hoon, Operations Committee Chair Lee Byeong-do, and 19 other city council members along with officials from the Seoul city government.
In a presentation on 'The Validity of Cleaning Service Demand and Financial Sharing in Seoul,' Council Member Song Yoon-jeong (Democratic Party, proportional representation) reported that as of August this year, there are 2,867 authorized environmental officials in the 25 districts, with 378 positions currently unfilled. She pointed out that the ongoing labor shortage, amid increasing demand for cleaning and environmental services, could lead to excessive overtime and increased workloads for existing workers, raising the risk of industrial accidents.
Song argued that even though the Seoul city government has delegated cleaning responsibilities for national and provincial roads to the districts, it is still obligated to provide financial support according to relevant laws and regulations. She proposed a comprehensive review of the authorized and actual workforce, as well as workload, to establish appropriate workforce standards and to revise the financial sharing structure between the city and districts to reflect changes in local autonomy and financial conditions.
The issue of differing entities responsible for wage determination and cost burdens was also a topic of discussion.
Attorney Kim Gyu-dong from Merit Law Firm noted a structural inconsistency where the districts employ and pay environmental officials, but wage negotiations and related standards are set at the city level. He suggested that Seoul and the districts form a 'Joint Wage Calculation Task Force' to unify the system for calculating and settling unpaid wages, and to establish standards for short- and long-term financial support and cost sharing. He also proposed creating standardized workforce assessment criteria and providing differentiated support based on the financial conditions of each district.
No Nam-gil, the senior vice-chairman of the Seoul City Hall Labor Union, emphasized that environmental officials are responsible for essential tasks in citizens' lives, including street cleaning, large waste disposal, and responding to public inquiries. He explained that a recent Supreme Court ruling in 2024 removed the fixed nature of regular wages, increasing pressure on labor costs.
He warned that if the financial burden falls solely on the districts, it could hinder new hiring and increase the workload and safety risks for existing staff, urging the swift establishment of joint workforce standards and financial sharing systems between the city and districts.
The designated discussion was moderated by Jo Min-seong, director of the Local Economic Green Alliance.
Participants included Council Member Noh Yeon-soo (Democratic Party, Nowon 4), Jungang District Council Operations Committee Chair Ko Gang-seob, Myongji University Professor Kim Young-jae, and Seoul City Living Environment Division Head Park Sang-jun.
Attendees agreed that the financial burden of increased cleaning service demand cannot be solely borne by the districts and emphasized the need for expanded support from the city and the establishment of reasonable cost-sharing standards.
Chairman Im stated, "I hope this discussion will lead to finding standards for sharing costs and responsibilities among the city, districts, and other stakeholders, ensuring that environmental officials can work safely and have adequate rest. The Seoul City Council will fulfill its role and responsibility for stable and sustainable cleaning administration."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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