[The Editors' Verdict] Responsible Prime Minister and Next Government Reorganization Theory

The discord between Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, traces back to the Moon Jae-in administration’s launch without a presidential transition committee, which led to a lack of discussion on government reorganization. The fundamental debate over whether disaster relief funds can be covered by taxes collected in excess stems from the flawed start of the Moon administration’s organizational structure. Both candidate Lee, who seeks to become the next president, and Yoon Seok-youl, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, should take note.

Although not a confirmed anecdote, it is said that when President Moon Jae-in appointed Lee Nak-yeon as the first Prime Minister, he requested him to serve as a responsible prime minister, and Lee asked about the specific role of such a position. President Moon reportedly replied that he should act like Lee Hae-chan, the prime minister under the late President Roh Moo-hyun. The critical error here was failing to recognize that under the Roh Moo-hyun administration, the prime minister had the Planning and Budget Office, which had budget formulation authority, enabling substantial power and government control. The Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations, which advocated for a big government, created the Ministry of Economy and Finance by integrating budget and finance functions, but the Moon administration, launched without a transition committee, merely followed this model. The Moon administration’s structure includes a prime minister without budget authority and giant ministries such as the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Science and ICT, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Concentrating budget and financial authority in one place under a progressive government has resulted in hampering reform efforts.

This is not just a current issue, but ministers of each department are under the control of specific ministries regarding budget, personnel, and organizational matters. Therefore, they are unable to exercise responsible administration. Naturally, the politics, administration, and policies of the government must be supplemented or entirely managed by the Blue House, and the strengthening of the Blue House’s functions and status relatively undermines the efficiency, expertise, and neutrality of the executive branch.

The greatest reason for the need for a responsible prime minister system is to assist the president, who inevitably stands at the center of domestic, inter-Korean, and international politics. Above all, institutionalizing a responsible prime minister as a stable axis for national administration through the control of each administrative department would also have the constitutional effect of moving toward a decentralized presidential system to prevent the monopolization of presidential power that the political world has long desired.

Recently, when Song Young-gil, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, asked whether the responsible prime minister system could be implemented through legal amendments without constitutional revision, I responded that it was "rational and realistic." This is because amending the current Government Organization Act, which concentrates power in the president and the Blue House, can easily resolve the issue. Furthermore, if the ruling and opposition parties agree to legislatively clarify the ambiguous powers and roles of the prime minister, it would be an ideal outcome.

In any case, the highlight of a policy election in a presidential race would be the debate on the next government’s reorganization plan. In the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the COVID-19 crisis, the debate over big government versus small government can be dismissed as an outdated issue. If the ruling Democratic Party’s presidential candidate first presents the ‘Basic Act on Prime Minister’s Authority’ and the next government’s reorganization plan, it would create an opportunity to shift the hostile and confrontational negative election phase into a genuine policy debate forum.

Park Sang-chul, Professor, Graduate School of Political Studies, Kyonggi University

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