By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporter
Cabinet ministers Tuesday approved the reorganization of 20 government ministries and agencies and the hiring of 582 civil servants. The approval was made in a meeting presided over by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.
Since his inauguration in early 2003, Roh has been under fire for increasing the number of civil servants.
The reorganization includes 99 new posts at the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs who will take care of the civil servants union, record presidential activities and inspect the assets of public servants among other duties.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry will get 24 more quarantine inspectors; the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy will get eight extra people to deal with natural resources overseas; and the Ministry of Information and Communication will get 86 for postal services in newly developed cities and 29 for a new government computer network center in Gwangju.
Seven officials will be added to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family to support foreign residents married to Koreans; 98 will be hired at a new office of human rights for victims at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office; 152 new policemen will be stationed in Incheon and Jeju Island; and 10 new officials will be allocated to the Small and Medium Business Administration.
The quality control department of the Public Procurement Office will become an independent government organization.
The Cabinet meeting also approved plans to allot 56 officials to a new office dealing with surveys at the National Statistical Office while cutting 56 junior-level personnel at its branch offices in the provinces.
The reform and personnel department of the Ombudsman of Korea will be divided into finance and reform departments with four added officials, and the Government Youth Commission will hire five more people to screen music CDs.
The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries will get 31 more officials to look after maritime statistics but will lose three officials in charge of facilities management at the Busan and Incheon ports.
``The increase in public servants will be the last during the administration of President Roh Moo-hyun,'' Kim Chang-ho, the minister of the Government Information Agency said. ``The increase is focused on strengthening services for the nation to meet social changes in information, the police force, and patent management.''