Cheong "No 'Blacklist' in Moon Government... Respecting Term of Previous Government Public Institution Heads"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Regarding former Minister of Environment Kim Eun-kyung, who was sentenced to a heavy penalty in the first trial over the so-called 'Ministry of Environment Blacklist' allegations, the Blue House expressed regret, stating, "This case is not a 'Ministry of Environment Blacklist case.'"

On the 10th, Blue House spokesperson Kang Min-seok said in a written briefing, "Although it is a principle not to comment on matters under investigation or trial, we cannot refrain from commenting on the characterization of this case," and made the statement.

Spokesperson Kang emphasized, "It is regrettable to define this case as a 'Ministry of Environment Blacklist case,'" adding, "A blacklist refers to a list excluding support to impose disadvantages on specific matters, but this case does not fall under that category."

In fact, the trial court's explanatory materials do not contain the word 'blacklist' anywhere. The Blue House defined this case not as a blacklist case but as a dispute over whether the act of receiving resignations from heads of subordinate organizations appointed by the previous administration after the new administration took office constitutes abuse of authority or not.

Spokesperson Kang explained, "There was no 'blacklist' during the Moon Jae-in administration," and "Therefore, there were no acts such as surveillance or inspection following the 'blacklist.' This is why this case is not a 'blacklist case.'"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He also emphasized that the Moon administration respected the terms of public institution heads. Spokesperson Kang said, "Respecting the terms of public institution heads appointed by the previous administration was the personnel policy stance of the government," adding, "At the time of the Moon Jae-in administration's inauguration, most of the public institution executives (about 330 public institution heads + about 90 standing auditors) appointed by the previous administration completed their terms or retired for legitimate reasons and procedures."

He continued, "Among the 13 executives of public institutions under the Ministry of Environment who submitted resignations in this case, a considerable number also completed their terms," and added, "The court also stated in the explanatory materials that 'considering that a considerable number of public institution executives who submitted resignations completed their terms as prescribed by law without their resignations being accepted.'"

Spokesperson Kang pointed out that the heads of six institutions, including the Korea National Council on Social Welfare, the Korea Classical Translation Institute, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, the Korea Invention Promotion Association, the Korean Sports & Olympic Committee, and the Environmental Preservation Association, were appointed by the previous administration but are still in office as of 2021, stating, "If a blacklist had existed, this would not have been possible."

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