[One Month of the Transition Team] '5G-Level Speed' Transition Team, Vision Still Unclear...

Cabinet Selection Completed 28 Days After Inauguration, 'Economic Recovery' as Top Priority Strategy Despite Policy Impression Limitations

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] An unprecedented rapid transition of power is underway. The Presidential Transition Committee (Transition Committee), which was launched just 9 days after the presidential election, completed the nomination of the Prime Minister candidate and the formation of the first cabinet faster than any previous administrations that operated transition committees since the 2000s. However, despite the rapid pace, communication was insufficient, and there were criticisms that the government’s vision was not visible. On the 15th, President-elect Yoon stated, "It has been a month since I started working at the Transition Committee," and expressed his intention to "approach the work with a beginner’s mindset."

The time President-elect Yoon took to finalize the new government’s cabinet was only 28 days. Compared to the Roh Moo-hyun, Lee Myung-bak, and Park Geun-hye administrations, which each took about 40 to 50 days to operate their transition committees, this was only half the time. The nomination of the Prime Minister candidate, who will oversee national administration alongside the president, was also swift. President-elect Yoon nominated candidate Han Duck-soo just 17 days after the launch of the Transition Committee, whereas during the Park Geun-hye administration, it took over a month to decide on the first Prime Minister, who was later forced to resign early.

Inside the Transition Committee, Yoon’s rapid approach is interpreted as a top priority strategy for ‘economic recovery.’ This reflects Yoon’s determination to quickly control economic instability factors such as the prolonged COVID-19 crisis damaging the livelihood economy, the current administration’s failed real estate policies, and soaring inflation, all at the start of the new government.

However, the results of this rapid pace were overshadowed by conflicts arising immediately after the Transition Committee’s launch, including the relocation of the presidential office to Yongsan and power struggles between the old and new administrations. Conflicts also occurred during the subsequent cabinet appointments and disagreements with Ahn Cheol-soo, the chairman of the Transition Committee. Most notably, President-elect Yoon chose a direct confrontation by firmly stating, "I will never enter the Blue House," and "I believe it is right to quickly decide and proceed with the Yongsan relocation," revealing limitations in imprinting a clear vision and policies. This stance became even clearer during the cabinet formation process, where regional balance and female quotas were rejected, and the cabinet was finalized based solely on competence and expertise, resulting in a composition of ‘Seo-O-Nam’ (Seoul National University graduates, men in their 50s).

As a result, although the Transition Committee began the task of sorting out national agendas after receiving detailed reports from each ministry, there has been no visible movement toward understanding the national situation, recognizing policy effects, or setting clear national goals. This is why, despite Chairman Ahn’s confidence that "there has never been a Transition Committee with so little noise," there are increasing evaluations that a clear vision or policy is not evident.

While the variable of a National Assembly dominated by the opposition party had a significant impact, the government’s expectations were also lowered by slowing down on revising the Government Organization Act and abolishing the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. In particular, the new government’s roadmap for real estate measures, which formed the foundation of the regime change, cannot be found anywhere. Except for the recent response by the Transition Committee to the urgent issue of ‘exempting multi-homeowners from the heavy capital gains tax for one year,’ no direction has been presented to untangle the complicated and tangled real estate tax system.

The 50 trillion won supplementary budget for loss compensation, which President-elect Yoon declared as his first pledge, has also fallen into a dilemma due to the recent continuous rise in inflation. Even with expenditure restructuring, the available resources are far from sufficient, making the issuance of deficit bonds for the supplementary budget inevitable. Moreover, if the issuance of deficit bonds increases market liquidity, the value of the currency will decline, causing inflation to rise further.

In response to ongoing criticism from the political sphere and the media, the Transition Committee announced plans to immediately disclose its stance on policy shifts, including national agendas, during the remaining period of its activities. It will also hold sessions where each subcommittee directly announces directions for policy reexamination. A key official from the Transition Committee stated, "As the selection of national agendas is being finalized, we are accelerating the process of categorizing them according to mid- to long-term national administration," and added, "We will ensure that the public receives the message that the new government is focusing on improving people’s livelihoods."

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