An exterior view of Ulsan Metropolitan City Hall [Ulsan city]
An exterior view of Ulsan Metropolitan City Hall [Ulsan city]

Ulsan city carried out its first regular personnel reshuffle of senior civil servants at Grade 5 and above since the launch of the ninth elected administration, reassigning 173 officials in the second half of 2026. Effective Thursday, 34 officials will be promoted, 116 transferred, 20 exchanged with other agencies and 2 dispatched on secondment.

Seo Nam-gyo, the city's administrative vice mayor, briefed reporters at the City Hall press center Monday, saying the reshuffle was guided solely by job competence, integrity and a commitment to public service — with no consideration given to regional or academic ties. "We focused on reorganizing the city into a working organization that embodies the core message of the ninth elected administration: citizen-centered governance," he said.

He added that the city had also achieved an inclusive reshuffle by fairly retaining key figures from the eighth elected administration where their ability and performance were outstanding.

For director-general posts (Grade 3), which form the backbone of city administration, candidates were assessed on policy judgment, leadership, contribution to city governance and work performance. Song Yeon-ju, head of the Corporate Field Support Division, was promoted to director general of the newly established Decentralization and Population Policy Bureau; Jeong Yeon-yong, head of the Green Space and Parks Division, was named director general of the Green Space and Gardens Bureau; and Oh Se-guk, head of the Architectural Policy Division, was appointed head of the General Construction Headquarters.

Jeong Ho-dong, who oversaw Ulsan's economic policy under the eighth elected administration as head of the Economic and Industrial Office, was moved to head the Citizen Safety Office, while Park Sun-cheol, who had led the Citizen Safety Office and handled industrial policy, was reassigned to head the AI Innovation Industry Office.

Lee Yeong-hwan, who managed the city's finances during the COVID-19 pandemic as head of the Corporate Investment Bureau, was appointed to the newly created post of fiscal planning officer, a position established to improve fiscal management efficiency. Ryu Jae-gyun, deputy district mayor of Dong-gu and a former head of the Economic Policy Office, was named director general of the Economic Bureau. Kim Chang-hyeon, head of the Policy Planning Office, was assigned to lead the Transportation Bureau, which faces a heavy agenda including bus route restructuring, tram construction and the development of a regional rail network.

Open-recruitment positions — including director general of the Welfare and Health Bureau, inspector general and public information officer — are expected to be filled by September, and follow-up personnel moves for Grade 6 and below are planned for completion this month.


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