Clarification on Exemption from Overtime Pay Cap for Public Officials on Emergency Duty

[Financial News]  


The government announced on the 21st that it will amend the 'Local Public Officials Salary Management Guidelines' to ensure that workers at the Regional Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (hereinafter referred to as 'Jidabon') are not subject to the overtime pay cap during disasters.
 This amendment was made as a result of Prime Minister Kim Min-seok's directive after receiving on-site suggestions during his visit to the Seoul Disaster and Safety Situation Room on June 18th to inspect the monsoon prevention and response posture.
The guidelines specify that if a local government head orders Jidabon duty due to a disaster, the overtime pay cap does not apply, but there was confusion on the ground due to expressions in examples that could be misunderstood as subject to the cap.
In fact, a survey by the Office for Government Policy Coordination and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety on the operation status of Jidabon allowances in metropolitan local governments nationwide found that some local governments were confused about the cap application due to differences in interpretation between the text and examples in the guidelines.
Accordingly, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to immediately revise the example phrases that caused confusion in the guidelines and provide detailed guidance to each local government through official documents.
Previously, in June, President Lee Jae-myung emphasized at the Safety and Security Inspection Meeting that "predictable accidents should never occur due to neglect and indifference, and post-incident accountability will be very strict," and instructed, "It should not be done solely through oppressive means, but the compensation system should be clear, and please consider personnel reform plans including strengthening the authority and status of disaster and safety officials and compensation plans."
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety, following the President's directive, is reviewing plans to expand support for excellent disaster response local governments and officials and will announce them soon.



ktitk@fnnews.com Kim Tae-kyung Reporter