The government's disciplinary body on Tuesday recommended the toughest penalty on public servants for an ex-education ministry official over controversial comments.

The Central Disciplinary Committee of the Ministry of Personnel Management decided to depose Na Hyang-wook, who was relieved of his duties as the head of the ministry's policy planning bureau last week.

On July 9, vernacular daily Kyunghyang Shinmun quoted Na as calling the Korean people "dogs and pigs" during his dinner with the paper's journalists.

The disciplinary committee said it decided to recommend the harshest penalty possible because Na's remarks damaged the people's trust in the public service.

Na attended the meeting that lasted more than two hours to state his case.

After receiving the committee's recommendation, the education ministry will have 15 days to mete out the punishment.

If the ministry accepts the recommendation for deposition, Na won't be allowed to re-enter the public sector for five years, and his pension payments will be cut in half.

Na has 30 days to appeal the committee's decision at the Appeals Commission under the personnel management ministry. It will then have up to 90 days in which to review Na's case.

If Na decides not to accept the Appeals Commission's ruling, he can then file an administrative suit.

(Yonhap)