A signal flare for a personnel overhaul fired by Kang Hoon-sik… Will Cheong Wa Dae break free from its ‘narrow talent pool’ and reform - 경향신문

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President Lee Jae Myung speaks while looking at Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik during a meeting of senior aides presided over by the President at Cheong Wa Dae on the 21st. Cheong Wa Dae photo press corps

With Kang Hoon-sik, Chief of Staff of the Office of the President, having expressed his intention to resign, attention is turning to whether a personnel overhaul at Cheong Wa Dae will gather full momentum. President Lee Jae Myung is deliberating the timing for accepting the resignation and the scope and direction of the reshuffle.

Inside and outside political circles, there are calls for Cheong Wa Dae to break out of its existing narrow talent pool and revamp its personnel approach and vetting system. In particular, there is advice to appoint heavyweight figures capable of speaking hard truths to the President to key posts such as the Chief of Staff, and to select a Policy Chief who can complement the growth-centered policy line with measures to alleviate polarization and inequality, thereby signaling a change in state affairs through the appointments themselves.

While visiting the United States to attend the UN General Assembly, President Lee approved on the 21st (local time), immediately upon arriving in New York, the appointments of Lee Hyung-il as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy, Kang Shin-cheol as Minister of the Ministry of National Defense, and Hong Ji-seon as Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. With the scheduled cabinet appointments wrapped up and a brief pause taken, he is expected to decide the scope of the reshuffle of Cheong Wa Dae staff, including the Chief of Staff and the Policy Chief.

Choi Chang-ryeol, a professor at Yongin University, said, “A sweeping reshuffle of Cheong Wa Dae staff is needed to show the public a metamorphosis,” adding, “Those such as the senior secretaries for civil affairs and personnel, who bear responsibility for personnel failures, should be replaced.” A Democratic Party official said, “The resignation of former Policy Chief Kim Yong-beom was not announced together with the cabinet reshuffle, and the timing of Chief Kang's expression of intent to step down was not proactive but seemed forced, so situations that could have been handled early keep snowballing,” adding, “It should be a renewal of appointments that gives the public the impression, ‘So the President went this far with appointments. Maybe the President really is trying to change something.’”

One background for the assessment that this is a forced overhaul is some media reports that Chief of Staff Kang and Kim Hyun-ji, Chief of the First Auxiliary Office at Cheong Wa Dae, clashed over personnel matters. A Cheong Wa Dae official said that day, “We express strong regret over baseless, maliciously speculative reports about supposed internal conflicts at Cheong Wa Dae,” and added, “As chair of the personnel committee overseeing appointments, the Chief of Staff tendered his resignation to fulfill his responsibility.” Cheong Wa Dae said it is “considering a strong response to unfounded reports.”

The most closely watched choice is the Chief of Staff. The People Power Party has raised suspicions of intervention in personnel affairs by figures in the Gyeonggi and Seongnam line, including Kim Hyun-ji, Chief of the First Auxiliary Office at Cheong Wa Dae, and Jeong Jin-sang, former head of political coordination for the Democratic Party leader. For this reason, there are arguments that the Chief of Staff, who serves as chair of the Cheong Wa Dae personnel committee overseeing ministerial-level appointments, should be a heavyweight figure capable of dispelling such suspicions.

Yoo Seung-chan, CEO of Storydot, said, “The Chief of Staff should be a heavyweight figure who, from a position different from the President, can neutralize presidential risk,” adding, “It should be someone who goes beyond merely giving the feeling of assisting the President.” Suh Yong-joo, head of the Mac Institute for Politics and Society, said, “A person with a different perspective who can offer uncomfortable, candid advice to the President should be appointed,” adding, “A team that can offer frank remonstrations should be formed to help the President move in the right direction.”

There are also arguments that the appointments themselves should serve as a signal flare for a shift in the governing policy line. Kim Yoon-cheol, a professor at Kyung Hee University's Humanitas College, said, “The Policy Chief should be someone who can shift the policy line from a growth focus toward alleviating polarization and inequality,” adding, “Through the appointments, there is a need to show the message that the President intends to change the direction of state affairs.”

At a press conference on the 18th, President Lee also said, “If until now the nation has concentrated all its capabilities on economic recovery and securing growth engines, there are now suggestions that the policy focus should shift slightly toward strengthening social policy,” adding, “We are looking for a suitable person.”

Improving the personnel system and methods of vetting is also a task. There are calls that ‘answer-already-decided appointments’, in which a decision to appoint a specific person is reached first and then only a formal vetting is conducted, must not be repeated. The downfall of former Ministry of Justice minister-nominee Kim Seung-won, who had served as head of the lawmakers group seeking withdrawal of the indictment in President Lee's case, is cited as a representative personnel failure. A Democratic Party official said, “The talent pool is narrow, and when appointments are made after having already concluded who should be named, vetting loses its meaning.”

Professor Choi said, “The personnel committee and the office of the senior secretary for civil affairs have not fulfilled their functions,” adding, “Even if someone is a person the President is reluctant to lose, pre-vetting must be thorough, and if problems are found, they should be screened out decisively.” He added, “It is necessary to institutionalize a vetting system that is not overly swayed by the President, such as conducting qualitative and quantitative evaluations with the names of candidates concealed within the personnel committee.” Professor Kim said, “The President should broaden the talent pool inclusively,” adding, “A personnel system that consults in advance with the party and civil society should be built.”