'Government Officials Resorting to Loopholes to Pocket Overtime Allowances' Rampant

The practice of Suwon city government officials improperly receiving hundreds of millions of won in overtime allowances through loopholes has come to light, putting the spotlight on civil servants' "moral hazard."

Civic groups have risen up, saying "taxpayers' blood money has only fattened government officials' wallets," and the government has belatedly launched "protecting national finances," announcing special audits of overtime allowances in local governments on the 30th and plans to improve the system.

◇ Varieties of Overtime Allowance Pocketing

Overtime allowances—premium pay for work outside regular hours—are currently perceived by government officials as a portion of compensation that can be fraudulently obtained through loopholes.

Admittedly, some civil servants legitimately receive overtime allowances for working outside regular hours, such as during late-night work. However, it is widely known that many officials receive allowances by falsely claiming to have worked more hours than they actually did or by fabricating work they never performed.

According to frontline officials, in local governments where fingerprint recognition systems are implemented for overtime authentication, some officials go out for dinner after work, return, enter their fingerprint, and then falsely record overtime work.

Additionally, some officials come to city halls or provincial government offices on holidays when there is no work at all, enter their fingerprints, and leave. In workplaces where work hours are checked through individual computers, some employees share computer access passwords within the same department to inflate each other's overtime hours.

It is common practice for officials to increase work hours, claiming to have worked until 11 p.m. when they actually worked only until 10 p.m.

◇ Irrational Overtime Allowance System

Currently, overtime allowances are not recognized for work between 8-9 a.m. and 6-8 p.m. Civil servants working in departments such as public affairs offices that start before 6 a.m. or planning offices requiring work past 11 p.m. effectively work three hours a day without compensation.

Furthermore, only up to four hours of overtime per day is recognized. Even if an official stays in the office until 2 a.m. the next day after the 6 p.m. departure time, only four hours—half of the total eight-hour work time—are credited as overtime.

Officials (grades 4-6) in departments overseeing cultural events often held on holidays receive hourly overtime allowances of 8,165 won per hour instead of daily holiday work allowances of 61,509 won, even when working on Saturdays and Sundays.

The Ministry of Interior and Safety does not approve holiday allowances, which are more costly, and instead applies relatively cheaper overtime allowances.

Due to the irrationality of the civil service allowance system, many officials argue that it is only natural for civil servants who are not properly compensated for their work to resort to claiming overtime allowances through loopholes.

◇ Are There Improvements?

There have been calls from within the civil service community for self-reflection and improvement regarding fraudulently obtaining overtime allowances.

Jeju Special Self-Governing Province announced the "New Jeju Movement," a special policy initiative, on the 24th, citing "overtime allowance pocketing" alongside "improving baduk and internet skills" as examples of "internal enemies that civil servants must abandon."

Additionally, Busan Jin District Office Chief Ha Gye-yeol said on September 12 of last year, "Although up to four hours of overtime work are recognized daily, two hours from 6 p.m. onward are not recognized, so there are areas where loopholes are rampant and system improvements are necessary," adding that "he submitted a proposal to the Minister of Interior and Safety requesting related system improvements."

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission also emphasized on the 28th of last month that it provides compensation for whistleblowers as a means to eliminate habitual small-scale corruption such as improper receipt of overtime allowances by civil servants, urging active reporting.

Frontline officials, however, argue that "even if we provide whistleblower compensation or upgrade overtime authentication systems to cutting-edge technology, there will always be ways to circumvent them," and emphasize that "above all, the overtime allowance system itself must be changed and civil servants must take the lead in self-discipline."