From now on, local council members must upload their travel plans to the website at least 45 days in advance to undergo procedures such as collecting residents' opinions and receiving committee approval. This measure is aimed at preventing non-essential trips focused on simple inspections.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 13th that it has revised the 'Standard Regulations for Local Council Official Overseas Travel.' This revision is recommended for all local councils.
This revision is characterized by strengthening the pre-review procedures and post-management of travel.
First, concerning the pre-review, travel plans must be uploaded to the website 45 days prior to departure. Based on this, public opinion will be collected, and the approval document will also be released after the committee's decision. Previously, travel plans that underwent committee approval were required to be posted on the website within three days after the review.
During the review process of travel plans, the committee will also conduct an integrated review of the visiting institution, list of employees, expenses, etc. If the travel plan changes, it must undergo re-review.
After the trip, a review of the legality and appropriateness of the results of the official overseas business trip must be conducted by the committee within 60 days. Previously, the results report was required to be submitted to the authorizing authority within 15 days after the trip and reported to the council within 60 days. If any grounds for disciplinary action arise during the review process, the matter will be referred to the Ethics Special Committee.
Previously, only travel plans and results reports were posted on the website, but in the future, review results will also be disclosed. This will be published on the Local Administrative Comprehensive Information Disclosure System (My Hometown Notifier) and the Official Overseas Business Trip Training System (under the Ministry of Personnel Management).
In addition, the independence of the review committee has been strengthened. The existing travel review committee is composed of at least nine members from provincial or metropolitan councils and at least seven members from basic city, county, or district councils. Here, civilian members must constitute more than two-thirds, while the remainder can be local council members. Moving forward, local council members can participate with no more than two members excluding the travel committee members. Civilian members will be selected through an application process or external recommendations.
This revision incorporates improvement measures provided by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety as well as recommendations based on the results of an investigation into the status of official overseas travel by local councils conducted by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission in December.
Deputy Minister Kim Min-jae noted, "In the future, we will also conduct education and outreach to ensure that a proper culture is established in local councils, and we will continue to strive for this."