Ministry of Economy and Finance Tries to Ease Tensions with First-Class Commendation Plaques and Large-Scale Promotions... Internal Sighs over Personnel Bottleneck

[Asia Economy reporters Jang Se-hee and Moon Chae-seok (Sejong)] Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, has taken steps to address internal morale by consecutively awarding plaques of appreciation to first-grade senior officials about to be dispatched overseas and carrying out a large-scale promotion personnel reshuffle. This measure comes amid criticism during the policy coordination process between the ruling party and the government, accusing them of "using fiscal excuses to avoid responsibility," despite being overworked throughout last year due to COVID-19. However, some voices of dissatisfaction have emerged, suggesting that personnel appointments are at a standstill, with possibilities of resignation from current director-level officials being raised.

According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance on the 29th, Deputy Minister Bang Ki-seon and Director of Planning and Coordination Office Baek Seung-ju were presented with plaques of appreciation the day before. Deputy Minister Bang is scheduled to be dispatched soon as a permanent director at the ADB office in Manila, Philippines, and Director Baek is to be dispatched as deputy director at the ADBI in Tokyo, Japan. It is known that Hong personally instructed the preparation of the plaques as a gesture of farewell.

A large-scale promotion was also carried out. On the 29th, the Ministry announced promotions for senior officials (formerly grades 1-2, 8 people) and deputy directors (grade 3, 10 people) effective that day, which is an unusual scale compared to last year’s 5 deputy director promotions.

Prior to this, Hong also distributed gifts of yucheok (鍮尺, a brass ruler symbolizing fairness carried by secret royal inspectors during the Joseon Dynasty) and personally wrote letters of appreciation to encourage employees through contribution recognition letters. These efforts also aim to strengthen internal cohesion and change the atmosphere.

However, dissatisfaction with personnel stagnation remains. Fundamentally, promotions to secretary and deputy director levels are several years slower than in other ministries, and recently, external agency head positions such as at the Korea Customs Service and Public Procurement Service have been lost to outsiders, causing senior personnel appointments to be blocked. It is generally known that the current Director of the Tax System Office (Director Im Jae-hyun), who is expected to be promoted to head of the Customs Service, has no suitable position to move to and is likely to retire first. Kim Tae-joo, General Director of Tax Policy, is a strong candidate for his successor.

Although the Ministry has been called an "elite civil service" and considered the most preferred ministry by newly appointed grade 5 officials, recently, the heavy workload and repeated instances of political pressure have made it a less favored ministry, which has weighed heavily on internal morale. Recently, a budget office official also submitted a resignation letter citing reasons such as pursuing graduate studies related to artificial intelligence (AI).

Meanwhile, Jin Seung-ho, former Director of the External Economic Bureau of the Ministry of Economy and Finance and currently Planning Director of the National Balanced Development Committee, is reportedly a strong candidate for the presidency of the Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) under the Ministry. When the term of current President Choi Hee-nam ends in March, KIC is expected to soon announce a call for applications and begin the appointment process.

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