[Column] Ministry of Industry Ahead of Cabinet Reshuffle... 'Tension' Over Appointment of a 'Powerful Minister'

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] As the government's role has expanded due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), each ministry is busy with 'policy sales,' but there are complaints that the presence of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), the main ministry overseeing industrial policy, is significantly less than before. It is said to be lagging behind in budget size and policy development.

Looking at the next year's budget by ministry, MOTIE has 11.1592 trillion won, the Ministry of Science and ICT has 17.3415 trillion won, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups has 13.364 trillion won, and the Ministry of Environment has 11.077 trillion won.

In the government's 'Korean New Deal,' 'Green' is primarily overseen by MOTIE and the Ministry of Environment, but 'Digital' is mainly under the Ministry of Science and ICT. Since the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, which implements support policies for medium-sized and small enterprises together with MOTIE, was promoted from a '청' (agency) to a '부' (ministry) in 2017, it has gradually expanded its scope of work.

Given this situation, there are even remarks within MOTIE such as "We hope the next minister will be someone who became a public official by chance ('Eogong')." In fact, the names of prominent politicians are being mentioned as candidates for the next MOTIE minister.

It is natural in the civil service world to prefer ministers promoted internally. Nevertheless, the reason MOTIE desperately wants a minister from a political background is because it is losing out in budget increases and policy agenda setting.

Voices are heard complaining about difficulties such as overlapping R&D projects among government ministries and the distribution of R&D support personnel and funds in affiliated agencies of each ministry. It is said that a powerful minister is needed not for political reasons but for administrative issues.

MOTIE literally oversees all tasks related to industry + trade + resources. Its scope of work is that broad. Under the Moon Jae-in administration, there has been some disadvantage due to the national policy direction pursuing 'pro-environment rather than pro-growth' and 'fountain effect centered on SMEs rather than trickle-down effect centered on large corporations.'

Going forward, MOTIE must work on industrial policies together with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Ministry of Science and ICT, and energy policies together with the Ministry of Environment. It is time to gather wisdom so as not to lose agenda-setting ability due to conflicts over budget and authority.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.