There is talk that the first organizational reshuffle of the Lee Jae-myung administration will make "a large-scale relocation of civil servants inevitable," as an estimated 800 or so officials will have to move offices. They will belong to agencies newly created or split off from existing bodies under the reorganization. The Government Complex Management Headquarters is expected to draw up an office allocation plan in October and deliver it to the relevant ministries, according to reports on the 15th.
◇ Ministries to be reorganized into the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Budget Office, and the Ministry of Climate and Energy are first in line to move
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 7th a reorganization plan to restructure the government into "19 ministries, 6 offices, 19 agencies, and 6 commissions." Compared with before, the number of offices increases by three, and the number of agencies decreases by one.
As a result, large-scale personnel moves are expected among the related ministries and bureaus to be reorganized into three bodies: the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Budget Office, and the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment. The three will launch by splitting off or merging some functions currently in the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Financial Services Commission, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
The number of civil servants who will need to move offices is estimated at about 800. They include 254 people in the Budget Office-to-be drawn from the Ministry of Economy and Finance's Budget Office and Fiscal Management Bureau; 379 people from the Financial Services Commission who will join the Ministry of Finance and Economy; and 194 people across five bureaus under the Energy Policy Office of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy that will be merged with the Ministry of Environment.
The Government Complex Management Headquarters has begun reviewing where to place their offices. It is reportedly weighing several options, including moving the Seoul-based Financial Services Commission to Sejong, and moving the Ministry of Economy and Finance's Budget Office from Sejong to Seoul. It is also said to be reviewing which ministry will fill the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries' space for about 850 people that will be vacated by a transfer to Busan.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to craft the office relocation plan based on two principles: conducting a single task in a single space, and minimizing transfer expense outlays. A government official said, "Depending on how many civil servants are moved, some parts of ministries unrelated to the reorganization may also need to adjust their locations," adding, "We intend to minimize such expenditure as much as possible."
◇ Mixed fortunes for civil servants… "Weekend marriages end" vs. "Worries about Seoul home prices"
Civil servants facing a possible office transfer are split between relief and concern. Those who left their families and homes in Seoul when moving from the Gwacheon complex to the Sejong complex in the past are quietly hopeful. By contrast, those long settled in Sejong or Seoul say they are in a bind.
Civil servants in the Ministry of Economy and Finance's Budget Office in Sejong are bracing to move to Seoul, where the Financial Services Commission will vacate space. A Budget Office official, identified as A, said, "My spouse works in Seoul, so I have been commuting daily to Sejong," adding, "If anything, moving to Seoul might make things easier." Quite a few officials like A commute daily between Seoul and Sejong due to a spouse's job and children's education. Some who find the commute too taxing rent places on monthly or jeonse leases to stay in Sejong on weekdays and go to Seoul on weekends.
Another Budget Office official, identified as B, said, "I have long since put down roots in Sejong where my workplace is, so being told suddenly to find a home in Seoul would be daunting." According to Real Estate R114, apartment sales prices in Seoul this year are 2.5 times higher than in 2015, 10 years ago. An official at the Financial Services Commission said, "Except for a portion who will remain at the Financial Supervisory Commission and the Financial Consumer Protection Agency, most are worried they will have to go to Sejong where the Ministry of Economy and Finance is," adding, "We often talk among colleagues about whether we will have to switch to private financial firms because we don't want to go to Sejong."
Officials at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Environment are said to be relatively less concerned, as both have offices in the Sejong complex. A Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy official said, "Staff in the Energy Office who have to change ministries are facing a bolt from the blue," but added, "Because the number of people moving from the industry ministry is far smaller than from the environment ministry, I think we will probably move closer to the environment ministry's building."
Meanwhile, the government plans to add transfer expense for office moves to next year's budget after the National Assembly handles revisions to the Government Organization Act. The Democratic Party of Korea introduced the amendment on the 12th and plans to pass it at a plenary session on the 25th of this month.