CONTENTS
- 1. Removal of Public Officials from Position | Definition
- 2. Removal of Public Officials from Position | Subjects and Requirements
- - Differences Between Removal from Position and Disciplinary Action
- - Disadvantages of Removal from Position
- 3. Removal of Public Officials from Position | Cases and Precedents
- - Major Precedents on Removal from Position
- 4. Removal of Public Officials from Position | Appeal Procedures
- - Filing an Appeal Review
- - Administrative Litigation
- 5. Removal of Public Officials from Position | Points to Note in Response
- - Methods for Self-Representation
- 6. Removal of Public Officials from Position | Key Issues
1. Removal of Public Officials from Position | Definition
Suspension of a public official from position is a measure that temporarily removes the official from their duties when the official is in a state in which they cannot temporarily perform their duties for a specific reason.
This temporarily restricts only the duties while maintaining the official's status, and it may be imposed when a serious problem arises in the official's reliability or ability to perform duties.
2. Removal of Public Officials from Position | Subjects and Requirements
The following reviews the subjects and requirements for the removal of a public official from position.
Where a public official falls under any one of the following, the head of the official's agency may remove the official from position without assigning a position.
1. Where the official's ability to properly perform duties is insufficient, or the official's work performance is very poor
2. Where a heavy disciplinary action amounting to removal, dismissal, demotion, or suspension is requested
3. Where the official is indicted in a criminal case
※ However, a request for a summary order (where only a fine is sought) is excluded.
4. Where the official is under investigation or inquiry by the Board of Audit and Inspection or an investigative agency for a serious misconduct such as the receipt of money or goods or a sex crime, and the degree of the misconduct is serious such that normal performance of duties is deemed difficult
Differences Between Removal from Position and Disciplinary Action
Both removal from position and disciplinary action imposed on a public official are personnel measures that impose a certain disadvantage on the official, but the two differ clearly in several respects, including their legal nature, the grounds for their occurrence, the procedures involved, the status relationship, and whether remuneration is paid.
Removal from position is a non-disciplinary administrative disposition by which the appointing authority excludes an official from duty on its own authority when the official falls under certain grounds and it is judged inappropriate for the official to perform their duties.
Unlike disciplinary action, this is not a sanction in nature but a personnel measure with a temporary and preventive purpose.
Disciplinary action, by contrast, is a sanctioning disposition made through the deliberation and resolution of a disciplinary committee in order to hold an official accountable when the official has violated statutes, official duties, or the duty of good faith, and it carries a legal sanctioning effect in itself.
Exclusion from duty is limited to cases where it needs to be done as a priority, and it may be invoked even where the unlawfulness or responsibility of the conduct has not been established.
Disciplinary action, by contrast, is possible only where the official is judged to have committed an unlawful or improper act, and for this, procedural rights such as specific fact-finding and the granting of an opportunity for the person subject to disciplinary suspicion to make a statement must be guaranteed beforehand.
Disadvantages of Removal from Position
Removal from position is distinguished from disciplinary action, but a substantial disadvantage equivalent to it follows.
▶Reduction of remuneration
-General removal from position (lack of ability to perform duties, poor work performance, etc.)
80% of salary paid
-Where removed from position while a disciplinary resolution is being requested or while indicted in a criminal case
Within 3 months from the date of removal from position: 80% of salary paid
Beyond 3 months from the date of removal from position: 50% of salary paid
-Removal from position due to misconduct (misconduct involving money or goods, sexual offenses, etc.)
50% of salary paid, and beyond 3 months, 30% of salary paid
▶Interruption of work history and restriction on promotion
The period of removal from position may be reflected as a factor of disadvantage in work evaluation and personnel matters, and the official may be excluded from the scope of promotion review or experience a gap in their career.
▶Social stigma and damage to reputation
If the fact of removal from position becomes known inside or outside the organization, the public official concerned may suffer a blow to their reputation and trust, and in particular, where a criminal case is involved, the damage to their social image may be significant.
3. Removal of Public Officials from Position | Cases and Precedents
Cases and precedents involving the suspension of public officials from office are reviewed below.
1. City of S, suspension from office of a public official rated 'lowest' in performance evaluation
In 2024, the City of S produced the first case of suspending from office a public official who received the lowest grade in a performance evaluation.
The City of Seoul operates a system under which, among public officials who receive 'Ga,' the lowest grade in a performance evaluation, those whose performance is especially poor may be suspended from office and given three months of intensive training, and where improvement is deemed difficult, dismissal ex officio
is also possible.
This is a measure intended to prevent work avoidance and to raise organizational productivity.
2. City of C, suspension from office of a public official who damaged office equipment out of dissatisfaction with a personnel order
The City of C announced that it had suspended from office a Grade 6 public official, A, who, dissatisfied with a personnel order, broke into the mayor's adjutant office and damaged office equipment and other items.
The city stated that it planned to place A on standby duty and then review whether to take disciplinary action.
3. City of G, suspension from office of a public official who assaulted a safety officer at a festival
The City of G announced that it had suspended from office an employee, B, who is under police investigation over an assault dispute with a safety officer while intoxicated at a recent local festival site.
The City of G stated that it had judged a serious measure to be necessary, on the grounds that B, as a public service worker responsible for citizens' safety, had seriously damaged his dignity and had committed an act threatening citizens' safety in a crowded place.
Major Precedents on Removal from Position
Let us examine the definition through precedents relating to suspension from duties.
▶Nature of suspension from duties
Suspension from duties is generally a temporary measure taken to prevent disruption to work that may arise if a public official continues to perform their duties in cases such as where the official lacks job capability or has a very poor work record, where disciplinary procedures are underway, or where the official has been indicted in a criminal case.
In other words, it is a 'provisional personnel measure' that excludes the official from their duties by not assigning a position to them for the time being.
This differs in nature from 'discipline,' which is imposed for the purpose of maintaining organizational order in order to hold the official accountable for past wrongful conduct.
▶Whether suspension from duties and a disciplinary action may be imposed concurrently
Suspension from duties is a measure that temporarily strips an official of their position when they have difficulty continuing to perform their duties for certain reasons. Although it is a disposition that imposes a disadvantage on the official, it is a measure that differs in nature from discipline.
Accordingly, even where suspension from duties is first imposed on the same grounds and a disciplinary action such as a pay cut is later imposed in addition, this does not constitute punishing the same matter twice (the principle against double jeopardy).
In other words, suspension from duties and a disciplinary action may be carried out in parallel, and this poses no legal problem.
▶Effect of a suspension from duties disposition
A position may be withheld from 'a public official for whom a disciplinary resolution has been requested,' which is interpreted to mean that suspension from duties is possible only while the disciplinary resolution is underway.
Accordingly, where a disciplinary resolution is actually made after the suspension from duties, or where the disciplinary procedure is canceled, the effect of the suspension from duties disposition automatically disappears and can no longer be maintained.
▶Effect of a dismissal disposition and a suspension from duties disposition
Where a suspension from duties disposition is first imposed on a public official and then a dismissal disposition is also imposed on the same grounds, once the later dismissal disposition becomes final, the earlier suspension from duties disposition ceases to have effect.
In other words, if dismissal occurs on the same grounds, the existing suspension from duties automatically loses its effect.
4. Removal of Public Officials from Position | Appeal Procedures
Let us review the procedure for contesting a public official's removal from position.
Filing an Appeal Review
An appeals review may be filed against a suspension from office to have the lawfulness of the disposition reexamined.
-Filing period: Within 30 days from the day on which the disposition became known
-Procedure: Filing with the Appeals Review Committee → hearing and decision (dismissal/revocation/modification)
Administrative Litigation
If a party is dissatisfied even with the result of an appeals review, the party may file an administrative litigation to seek revocation of the disposition in court.
-Filing deadline: within 90 days from the date of becoming aware that the disposition was made
5. Removal of Public Officials from Position | Points to Note in Response
The following are points to note when responding to the suspension from office of a public official.
1. Requesting a statement of reasons and filing for information disclosure
Where a person has received a disposition of suspension from office, the person may request delivery of a written statement of the grounds for the disposition and file for disclosure of related documents, inspection records, and the like.
This is used as evidence in a later appeal or lawsuit.
2. Analyzing the grounds for indictment and their relevance to duties
If there is no specific explanation of how the indictment, rather than the mere fact of a criminal indictment, affects the performance of duties, this can serve as a basis for contesting it.
In order to contest the legality of the suspension from office, it is necessary to organize matters such as the relevance to duties and whether there are factors impeding the performance of official duties.
3. Requesting restoration to the original state after an acquittal
Where, after the suspension from office, an acquittal becomes final in the criminal trial, it is possible to request, retroactively, the full refund of remuneration, the restoration of one's career, and the correction of disadvantageous measures.
This too is a matter that requires a legal response.
Methods for Self-Representation
If you intend to respond on your own to a disposition removing you from position, it is advisable to follow the procedures below.
1. Securing and Reviewing the Disposition Documents
-Request a copy of the disposition of removal from position and the related statement of reasons from the personnel department
-Check whether the reasons for the removal from position match the legal requirements
-Secure inspection records, work evaluation materials, disciplinary action request documents, and the like
2. Preparing for the Appeal Review
You must submit to the competent appeals commission a petition for appeal review stating the following matters, attaching one copy of the petition and a copy of the statement of reasons for the disposition or the notice of personnel order.
-Address, name, resident registration number, and telephone number
-Name of the current or former agency and the current or former position
-The respondent (the requesting authority for a disposition or omission by the President)
-The purpose of the appeal
-The grounds for the appeal and the methods of proof
3. Preparing for Administrative Litigation
-After confirming the competent administrative court, file a lawsuit seeking revocation of the administrative disposition
-Organize the arguments to be made in the complaint as follows
The requirements for removal from position are not met
Procedural defects exist (no hearing was held, reasons were not stated, etc.)
Insufficient connection between the grounds for indictment and the duties
Excessive infringement of fundamental rights (livelihood, reputation)
6. Removal of Public Officials from Position | Key Issues
When a public official's removal from position takes place, the official is excluded from duties and suffers significant disadvantages such as a reduction in salary.
If you believe the disposition is unjust, a strategic response based on statutes and precedents rather than a simple emotional reaction is needed.
At our firm, an experienced team of attorneys handling administrative matters, who have handled many related administrative lawsuits, collaborates with the evidence collection center to systematically prepare the gathering of materials, the organization of arguments, procedural responses, and the like, and develops a careful strategy toward the client's recovery of their public service career and reputation.
