Gangwon governor opens direct channel for civil servants to speak freely

Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Governor Woo Sang-ho is launching a direct communication channel called the "Mutual Communication Room" within the province's internal administrative system, giving staff a way to reach him directly with their concerns and ideas.

Any employee at the provincial office can use the channel. The main areas it covers are policy suggestions, grievances and requests, and reports of gapjil ("power abuse") and sexual misconduct.

The move reflects Woo's determination to hear voices that would otherwise be filtered out by layers of hierarchy — including matters that intermediate gatekeepers should not be privy to — rather than receiving only opinions that have already passed through multiple levels of review.

The name "Mutual Communication Room" is meant to convey a shared space built by the governor and staff together. It was set up so that employees can freely share policy ideas that arise during their work, along with grievances and requests, and have them delivered directly to the governor.

To allow staff to speak freely without fear of being identified, submissions are anonymous by default, with access restricted to the governor and a dedicated secretary's office staff member.

Particularly sensitive matters — including grievances, gapjil reports and sexual misconduct allegations — will be handled with strict confidentiality. Submissions will go through legal and administrative review by the relevant departments before any necessary follow-up action is taken.

Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province said it intends to run the channel as an effective communication outlet, carefully attending to the range of voices from staff and ensuring that submissions lead to improvements in provincial administration and organizational operations, or to whatever action a given matter requires.

"The starting point of communication is for employees to freely share what they think and what difficulties they face on the ground, and to work through solutions together," Woo said. "Good suggestions will be actively reflected in provincial policy, and I will look carefully into staff grievances to find practical solutions."