South Gyeongsang Province holds leadership training for department heads in Tongyeong; program to reach 480 staff across four sessions

South Gyeongsang Province Governor Park Wan-su visits the "2026 Department Head Innovation Leadership Training" at Stanford Hotel in Tongyeong on Friday and holds a roundtable discussion with Grade-4 department heads. [South Gyeongsang Province]
South Gyeongsang Province Governor Park Wan-su visits the "2026 Department Head Innovation Leadership Training" at Stanford Hotel in Tongyeong on Friday and holds a roundtable discussion with Grade-4 department heads. [South Gyeongsang Province]

South Gyeongsang Province held its "2026 Department Head Innovation Leadership Training" at Stanford Hotel in Tongyeong from Thursday to Friday, aiming to improve administrative outcomes that residents can tangibly feel amid a rapidly changing public-sector environment.

The training was designed to strengthen organizational culture and innovation leadership among senior civil servants who will drive the province's development agenda under the ninth elected administration. The province has been running the program across four sessions — covering Grade-4 department heads, Grade-5 administrative officers, and Grade-6 through Grade-9 staff — reaching 480 employees province-wide.

On the second day, Friday, Governor Park Wan-su visited the venue in person and held a roundtable discussion with about 40 Grade-4 department heads. The session centered on the theme of "Organizational innovation in South Gyeongsang Province — what to add and what to cut."

Department heads identified horizontal communication, fair performance evaluation and staff motivation as areas requiring further strengthening, while calling for a decisive break from formalistic procedures and passive attitudes. Participants spoke candidly about the challenges of communicating with staff and managing their teams, exchanging frank views on the role and mindset expected of managers.

At the roundtable, Park said excessive ceremonial protocol, redundant paperwork and the need to streamline reporting had been raised as problems 30 years ago. "We must now eliminate unnecessary protocol and formalistic reporting practices and concentrate on substantive work for our residents," he said.

He added that department heads must set work priorities from the perspective of residents. "I have given you the authority to break down organizational silos and operate with flexibility — I ask that department heads lead their teams with a sense of responsibility," Park said.

The province said it plans to carefully analyze the proposals and opinions gathered at the roundtable through its innovation support division, refine them into concrete action items, and distribute them to each department as part of ongoing follow-up.


ook967@heraldcorp.com