"We found out from the announcement without any prior notice." (Ministry of Gender Equality and Family official)
With the government saying it will transfer the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family to Sejong, concerns are growing among officials at those ministries. In particular, officials who moved to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family considering a Seoul posting a plus expressed dismay at the sudden relocation plan. By contrast, among Ministry of Justice and prosecution officials, who have often worked in the provinces, some said, "We move around the country anyway."
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said on the 3rd that central government agencies with offices in the greater Seoul area, including the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, will be transferred sequentially to Sejong starting in the first half of next year. The Prosecution Service, which is being abolished, and the Public Prosecution Service and Serious Crimes Investigation Service to be launched in Oct., as well as the Korean National Police Agency, will move after building new offices.
◇ "I came to work in Seoul"... Caught off guard by the sudden transfer
The central government currently consists of 19 ministries and three administrations. The Government Complex Seoul houses the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Unification, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, and others, while the Government Complex Gwacheon houses the Ministry of Justice and others.
Officials at the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family could not hide their dismay at the announcement. All of the roughly 300 officials belonging to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family work at the Government Complex Seoul. Some officials are known to have transferred to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family from other ministries in Sejong to work in Seoul.
An official at the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said, "I talked with colleagues, and everyone was flustered." Another official said, "We were focused on the confirmation hearing for the Minister nominee, so we never imagined a bolt-from-the-blue announcement like a transfer to Sejong would come," adding, "We were surprised they singled out our ministry and told us to go."
◇ Ministry of Justice says "we work in the provinces anyway"... But worried about housing
Ministry of Justice officials are not pleased about their workplace shifting from the Government Complex Gwacheon to Sejong, but the shock seems milder than at the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. Although more than 24,000 officials belong to the Ministry of Justice, only about 1,000 work at the Government Complex Gwacheon. Most officials work at prisons, detention centers, juvenile reformatory schools, probation offices, and immigration offices nationwide.
A Ministry of Justice official said, "Even the roughly 1,000 people currently working at the Government Complex Gwacheon must do provincial rotations under the rotation principle," adding, "Some administrative staff also work at the Legal Research and Training Institute in Jincheon County, North Chungcheong."
Still, some voiced concerns about housing due to the transfer to Sejong. The Ministry of Justice provides official residences to provincial staff. A Ministry of Justice official said, "Moving to Sejong is fine, but if there is no place to stay, it will ultimately cost individuals money," adding, "It would be good if the special housing supply benefits once offered to public officials were reinstated." The government is reviewing the reintroduction of the special supply system, which was abolished in 2021 amid controversy over "public officials' financial strategies."
◇ Prosecutors say "we move around anyway"... Police say "it doesn't feel real"
The Public Prosecution Service, the Serious Crimes Investigation Service, and the Korean National Police Agency are also being mentioned as agencies to be transferred to Sejong. Prosecutors reacted relatively calmly. That is because prosecutors typically change postings every two years.
A prosecutor at a metropolitan Prosecution Service office said, "Prosecutors move around the country to work anyway, so the impact is not big," adding, "Even when assigned to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, we sometimes do not stay even a year." The prosecutor added, "Even now, many live apart from families who reside in the provinces."
An officer working at the Korean National Police Agency in Migeun-dong, Seodaemun District, Seoul, said, "Given the many recent controversies surrounding the police, we are busy dealing with them now," adding, "The issue of a provincial transfer does not feel real yet."