Meaningful outcomes earn tangible rewards to boost proactive work culture
"Fostering a voluntary commitment to proactive administration through meaningful, practical rewards for those who practice it."
That is the guiding principle behind the proactive administration mileage system that Goyang introduced in May 2024.
The city launched the program with two goals in mind: to encourage proactive work — including efforts to reform unreasonable regulations — by offering diverse reward opportunities for meaningful results, and to create a more energetic workplace by catering to civil servants who prefer fair, prompt recognition of their performance.
The underlying intent is to raise the system's effectiveness by ensuring that standout results are reliably rewarded.
The program covers all city employees at Grade 6 and below across every department. Staff who demonstrate proactive administration earn mileage points, which are then redeemed for rewards on a semiannual or quarterly basis according to set compensation criteria.
The process works as follows: employees in any department may request mileage credit at any time after carrying out a proactive act. The legal affairs officer then verifies and records the points in line with the accumulation criteria and reward plan, and manages redemptions and payouts on a semiannual or quarterly schedule.
In 2024, the program's first year, the city paid out a total of 105 cases worth 2.83 million won ($2,000) over roughly seven months. In 2025, it completed payouts for 99 cases totaling 2.83 million won. In the first half of 2026, 32 cases worth 1.19 million won were paid out.
Under the mileage accumulation criteria, points are awarded as follows for the proactive administration competition: submitting a best-practice case earns 3 points, and winning the Seedling Award at the competition earns 12 points. Separately, accepting and implementing a recommendation from the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission through the People's Sinmungo proactive administration petition process earns 3 points.
Using the proactive administration support system also generates points: submitting an agenda item to the Proactive Administration Committee earns 10 points, and using pre-consultation services through the Board of Audit and Inspection or a higher-level agency earns 5 points. For collaborative activities, resolving a problem and producing a proactive administration outcome through collaboration earns 1 point, while submitting an agenda item to a joint session of the Proactive Administration Committee earns 10 points.
Kim Hui-taek, the city's legal affairs officer, said the city would "strengthen practical rewards and protections for results so that proactive administration can take root as an organizational culture, and further solidify the institutional foundation that allows civil servants to deliver proactive service for residents."
pjh@heraldcorp.com
