Exemption for Proactive Administration

Applied regulations: Article 17 of the Regulations on Management of Proactive Administration (Exemption from disciplinary actions, etc.) and Article 3-2 of the Enforcement Rule of the Decree on Disciplinary Action against Public Officials (Exemption from disciplinary actions for proactive administration, etc)

Types

Exemption from disciplinary actions when all of the following conditions are met

• Act to promote public interest: The civil servant’s duties and the way he or she handled the task constituted an act to promote the public interest, such as to increase the public’s convenience and address inconvenience, stimulate the economy or improve administrative efficiency, etc
• Proactive efforts to perform duties: The civil servant made extra efforts or took extra care that exceeded the level of effort or care ordinarily expected from an average civil servant, such as attempting a new way of pursuing the public interest or taking swift measures to resolve a problem
• No willful misconduct or gross negligence: There is no personal interest between the civil servant suspected and his or her misdeeds, and there is no material procedural flaw in performing the duty

Exemption from disciplinary actions involving pre-consulting

• A civil servant is exempt from disciplinary actions if he or she sought and followed the opinion of the Board of Audit and Inspection or the competent agency’s own audit board regarding difficulties in decision-making while pursuing proactive administration, such as due to unclear provisions in laws, etc

  Provided, however, that he or she shall not be exempt from disciplinary actions if personal interest is involved or he or she failed to provide sufficient information during the pre-consulting

Exemption from disciplinary actions when a proactive administration support committee was consulted

• A civil servant may request the opinion of the proactive administration support committee at each agency when faced with difficulties in pursuing proactive administration, such as due to regulations on authorization, permission, registration, notification, etc. or unclear provisions in laws, etc., and is exempt from disciplinary actions if he or she followed such opinion

  Provided, however, that he or she shall not be exempt from disciplinary actions if personal interest is involved or he or she failed to provide sufficient information for the committee to pass judgment and propose opinions

Procedure of application and decision-making

• The person subject to disciplinary action may explain the reason for requesting an exemption from disciplinary actions using the “opinion letter” form and submit it to the disciplinary committee
• The disciplinary committee shall determine whether the explanation constitutes a reason for exemption, reflect the decision to the resolution letter and notify the civil servant of the result