'Chu-Yoon Incident' 1 Year... Ministry of Justice Fails Work Evaluation with Grade 'C'

Office for Government Policy Coordination Releases '2020 Government Work Evaluation Results'... Ministry of Justice Receives Lowest Grade for '3 Consecutive Years'

Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] The Ministry of Justice, which was embroiled in a loud conflict between the current Minister of Justice and the Prosecutor General, received the lowest grade 'C' in last year's government performance evaluation. The Ministry of Justice has received a C grade for three consecutive years since 2018.

On the 26th, the Office for Government Policy Coordination reported the '2020 Government Performance Evaluation Results' at the Cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun. Among ministerial-level agencies, four agencies including the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Unification, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, and the Fair Trade Commission received the lowest grade.

This evaluation was conducted on 43 central administrative agencies, assessing last year's performance in four categories: ▲Jobs and National Tasks ▲Regulatory Innovation ▲Government Innovation ▲Policy Communication, and then compiling a comprehensive score for each agency. The newly established Personal Information Protection Commission and Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency were excluded from the evaluation.

The Ministry of Justice received a C grade in three evaluation categories except for Government Innovation. It was not only insufficient in promoting national tasks such as reforming power institutions but also affected by the occurrence of over 1,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in correctional facilities nationwide, including Dongbu Detention Center. Baek Il-hyun, head of the Government Performance Evaluation Office at the Office for Government Policy Coordination, said, "The 2020 evaluation particularly focused on each ministry's efforts in responding to COVID-19 and preparing for the post-COVID era," adding, "Agencies that delayed key task implementation or inadequately responded to current issues received relatively low evaluations."

On the other hand, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which executed four supplementary budgets last year and achieved relatively favorable economic indicators despite the economic crisis caused by COVID-19, received the highest grade 'A'. In addition, six agencies including the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the main ministry for K-quarantine, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, which played a major role in operating the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters for COVID-19 response, the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy were evaluated as A grade. These agencies will receive rewards according to relevant laws.

Among vice-ministerial-level agencies, six agencies including the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Korea Customs Service, Public Procurement Service, National Police Agency, National Fire Agency, and Korea Forest Service received A grades. On the other hand, the Korea Meteorological Administration, the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, Saemangeum Development and Investment Agency, and the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission received C grades.

The Office for Government Policy Coordination stated that it will deliver these evaluation results to each ministry for future improvement and supplementation.

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