Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung: "Work with the spirit of suppressing the strong and aiding the weak"

Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung emphasized that the core of the 7th civilian-elected Gyeonggi provincial administration is fairness, urging civil servants to work with the spirit of "suppressing the strong and aiding the weak" (억강부약, restraining the powerful and supporting the vulnerable).

Governor Lee stated in his opening remarks at his first monthly briefing on the morning of the 5th: "The reason we grant authority to civil servants is to enable them to play a role in suppressing the strong and aiding the weak to create a fair world. The most important reason for a system to collapse is unfair inequality. Controlling this is the greatest role of public officials." He added, "The authority and budget that civil servants possess do not belong to them but come from the people. When civil servants use their authority for specific individuals, it is called corruption. Let us use our authority and budget as fairly as possible to create a better world."

During his remarks, which lasted over an hour, Governor Lee shared not only his philosophy on provincial governance but also advice on how civil servants should work and his commitments for the future.

Governor Lee first requested that public servants "move just half a step ahead if you are going to do the work anyway," calling for a proactive and positive attitude. He particularly emphasized the importance of handling simple and easy tasks quickly, noting: "What is simple for civil servants is an enormously important issue from the perspective of residents. It could be a matter with someone's life at stake. People's hearts are moved by small things." He offered this advice on working methods.

Governor Lee also pledged to Gyeonggi Province's civil servants that he will never instruct them to violate the law and that he will conduct predictable personnel decisions.

Governor Lee presented three principles for his personnel management: ▲people who work with a sense of direction so that provincial administration can benefit as many people as possible ▲people who work diligently on their assigned tasks ▲people who possess capabilities such as skills and know-how. He added that junior positions should prioritize seniority, while senior positions should be based on merit competition. He also mentioned that he is considering introducing a competency assessment for employees to enhance their understanding of provincial administration.