Yoon Hee-sook's Speculation Allegations Spark Controversy at KDI: "If Personal Gain Was Sought, Wouldn't Have Handled Preliminary Feasibility Studies for Over 20 Years"

Rep. Yoon Worked at KDI from 2003 to 2016
Belonged to the Public Investment Management Center until 2010, Worked in Pre-Feasibility Study Related Organization
KDI Official: "Structure Not Suitable for Extracting and Misusing Information"

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] The real estate speculation allegations against Yoon Hee-sook, a member of the People Power Party, seem to be spilling over to the Korea Development Institute (KDI). Some ruling party members are calling for a full investigation targeting KDI researchers and their families, as KDI is responsible for conducting preliminary feasibility studies on social overhead capital (SOC). Inside KDI, however, there are complaints that considering the basic system, minimum researcher ethics, and Yoon’s employment history, these suspicions are excessive.

According to KDI on the 27th, former lawmaker Yoon worked there for about 14 years from 2003 to 2016, spending a significant portion of that time in the organization responsible for preliminary feasibility studies. Yoon worked at the Public Investment Management Center (reorganized as the Fiscal Public Investment Management Research Department in 2004) from 2003 to 2010, which was relatively early in the preliminary feasibility study system (introduced in 1999). It has been confirmed that during that time, she oversaw projects such as the construction of the Veterans Central Hospital, Jeju National University Hospital, Incheon Veterans Hospital, and a rehabilitation-specialized industrial accident hospital. In 2016, when the controversial purchase of farmland in Sejong City by Yoon’s father took place, she was working in the Fiscal Welfare Policy Research Department, mainly researching job policies, pension systems, and fiscal soundness, before retiring in August of that year.

A senior KDI researcher said, “Preliminary feasibility studies are vulnerable to attacks every time the government changes, so internally, information is neither exchanged nor discussed outside the responsible research team,” adding, “If there had been attempts to pursue private gain through research content, KDI would not have been able to handle preliminary feasibility studies for over 20 years.” Another KDI official said, “The preliminary feasibility study research itself is divided into areas such as benefits and costs, and there is a minimum system in place, including signing non-disclosure agreements to prevent leaking any content,” adding, “Besides that, there is no business interest large enough to abandon basic research ethics.” The Public Investment Center’s ‘Preliminary Feasibility Study Research Team Compliance Guidelines’ state that “researchers must not leak project plans or materials obtained during the investigation or data generated during the investigation process,” and violations are subject to civil and criminal liability.

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