Prime Minister Kim: "Must Eradicate the 'Political Factionalism' Bad Practice During Government Transition"… Letter to All Public Officials

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Seon-hee] On the 3rd, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum sent a letter to government officials across ministries, urging them to firmly establish political neutrality and public service discipline ahead of the presidential election. Through this, he emphasized breaking the so-called 'line-pulling malpractice' that has often been repeated during regime changes.

According to the Office for Government Policy Coordination on the same day, Prime Minister Kim stated in the letter, "Public officials are servants of the people and must adhere to the duty of political neutrality as servants to the entire nation," adding, "Especially during this period ahead of the presidential election, public officials must strictly maintain political neutrality."

Prime Minister Kim warned, "There has been controversy recently regarding some central government ministries providing policy materials to political circles," and said, "Even if there are misunderstandings, providing grounds for controversy during such a sensitive time can never be considered appropriate behavior." This is interpreted as a remark mindful of the recent referral by the National Election Commission to the prosecution concerning Park Jin-gyu, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and former Blue House secretary, who is suspected of involvement in the Democratic Party's policy pledge development.

Prime Minister Kim emphasized, "Currently, government ministries are jointly organizing the achievements and shortcomings of the Moon Jae-in administration, as well as tasks that need to be newly pursued, in an objective and neutral manner," and added, "The preparation and provision of policy materials to political circles at the individual agency level is fundamentally prohibited."

He further warned, "Once trust is broken, it is difficult to restore," and reiterated, "If, ahead of the election, government ministries and public officials engage in the so-called 'line-pulling' with leading presidential candidates or political parties, it is an unacceptable act that betrays the trust and faith of the people."

Prime Minister Kim stated, "The preparation and provision of policy materials to political circles at the individual agency level, excluding official channels, will be fundamentally prohibited," and said, "We will request each candidate camp to refrain from individual agency contacts or demands for materials from public officials for policy development."

He also said, "If such efforts become established as a new precedent, it will fundamentally resolve the political neutrality controversies that have persisted during government transitions and eradicate the 'political line-pulling malpractice' in the public service community."

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