Cheon Ji-yoon (left), director general of the Ethics and Service Bureau at the Ministry of Personnel Management, explains proposed revisions to disciplinary rules for public officials during a press briefing at the Government Complex Sejong on Thursday. (Ministry of Personnel Management) The Ministry of Personnel Management is seeking tougher disciplinary standards for public officials who neglect their duties, engage in passive administration or use hate speech, the ministry said Thursday.The ministry said it will issue an advance notice of revisions to the enforcement rules of the Decree on Disciplinary Action Against Public Officials. The revised rules are scheduled to take effect Oct. 1.Under the current rules, failure to act and dereliction of duty are grouped with unrelated forms of misconduct, including violations of accounting rules.The proposed revisions would establish failure to act and dereliction of duty as a separate category and raise the minimum disciplinary penalty from a reprimand to a pay cut.The minimum penalty for passive administration would also be raised from a reprimand to a pay cut.Failure to act or dereliction of duty refers to cases in which officials fail, without legitimate reason, to carry out an action or decision they are required to perform. Passive administration also covers cases in which such conduct infringes on the public’s rights or causes financial losses to the state.The revisions would also clarify the disciplinary liability of supervisors. Managers could face disciplinary action if they are found to have neglected their responsibility to supervise employees involved in such misconduct.The ministry also plans to establish separate disciplinary standards for hate speech.Hate speech has so far been handled under the “other” category of violations of public officials’ duty to maintain dignity because no dedicated disciplinary standards exist. The ministry said this has made it difficult to impose penalties proportionate to the seriousness of the conduct.Under the revised rules, public officials who seriously damage the dignity of public service through hate speech could face penalties ranging from a pay cut to dismissal.The proposed rules define hate speech as verbal or behavioral expressions that incite discrimination or violence against an individual or group, or seriously violate human dignity, based on characteristics such as race, nationality, region, gender, disability, age, social status or income level.The ministry also plans to limit reductions in disciplinary penalties based on previous official commendations in hate speech cases.“Strict standards should apply to public officials who evade responsibility through passive administration,” Personnel Management Minister Choi Dong-seok said.“We will work to establish a public service culture that meets public expectations and reflects changing social norms by strengthening disciplinary standards for passive administration and hate speech.”