Ongoing Controversy Including Speculation Over Appointment Amid Seoul Agro-Fisheries & Food Corporation President Recruitment

Seoul City Councilor Hong Seong-ryong Warns "Rumors of New Construction Company President Appointment Seriously Undermine Procedural Legitimacy. Current and Former Executives Eagerly Aligning with Appointee, Causing Severe Moral Hazard and Work Discipline Laxity," and States "Will Thoroughly Review Hiring Process and Strictly Hold Those Responsible for the Controversy"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] As the Seoul Agricultural and Marine Products Corporation has begun a public recruitment for a new president and non-executive directors, rumors about the appointment of the new president are spreading, causing much controversy.

According to the corporation, the executive recommendation committee is publicly recruiting four executives, including one president and three non-executive directors, from the 1st to the 20th of this month.

However, inside and outside the corporation, even before the public recruitment of executives, the name of a certain person named Yeo has been mentioned as a candidate for the new president, leading to speculation about a pre-appointment.

Regarding this, Hong Seong-ryong, a member of the Seoul Metropolitan Council's Urban Safety and Construction Committee (Democratic Party of Korea, Songpa 3), pointed out, “Since Mayor Oh Se-hoon's inauguration, there have been continuous controversies surrounding appointments of heads of Seoul-affiliated institutions. Even before the public recruitment, rumors of Yeo, who held a high-ranking position during the Park Geun-hye administration, being pre-appointed as the corporation’s president are circulating in Garak Market, seriously undermining procedural legitimacy.”

He also stated, “Garak Market, managed by the corporation, plays a pivotal role in the distribution of agricultural and marine products in Korea, but chronic issues such as financial soundness problems due to facility modernization projects and conflicts with distribution entities remain unresolved. Furthermore, with the increase in online and direct transactions from production areas and the expansion of business-use stores by large discount stores, competitiveness is gradually being lost. Recently, nearly 900 distribution workers have been infected with COVID-19, causing extreme distress and hardship among the members.”

He continued, “In such a difficult situation, the sudden rumors of the new president’s pre-appointment have led to stories that current and former executives of the corporation are desperately trying to find connections with Yeo, and that distribution organizations, their leaders, and merchants are being asked to create a favorable public opinion for him. There are even controversies regarding non-executive directors. The moral hazard and lax discipline among the corporation’s executives surrounding the recruitment of new executives have gone too far,” he criticized.

Councilor Hong said, “Despite continuously pointing out and demanding improvements to the corporation’s problems such as reckless management and lack of communication with distribution workers, the executives and current and former officials of the corporation have been only concerned with protecting their own interests, ignoring the pain and hardship of the distribution workers. Observing this behavior, one can only conclude that the corporation has lost its ability to self-purify.” He added, “It is lamentable how the corporation, which should be reborn as a service institution for producers, consumers, and distributors, has come to this state.”

Councilor Hong emphasized, “To respond to major issues such as trading system controversies and changes in the distribution environment, and to be reborn as a corporation trusted by members and citizens, the abilities, qualifications, and morality of the new president and executives, as well as procedural legitimacy in the hiring process, must be fully satisfied.” He warned, “Mayor Oh, the parties involved, and corporation officials should keep in mind that the entire executive recruitment process will be scrutinized together with the ten million citizens, and the root causes of the controversy will be thoroughly investigated and held strictly accountable.”

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