[Revolving Door Personnel② - Obstacles to Private Sector Appointment] "Who would come after serving 1 year as minister and resting 3 years?"... Law Blocking Talent Pool

Repeated Root Causes of 'Recycling Personnel'
Bureaucracy and Camp Politics Practices
Public Official Ethics Act Actually Blocks Private Talent
Obstacle to Appointing Young Ministers and Private Experts

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol announced the candidates for the Minister of Employment and Labor and the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs at the 20th Presidential Transition Committee in Tongui-dong, Seoul, on the 14th. From the left, Lee Jeong-sik, candidate for Minister of Employment and Labor; Jeong Hwang-geun, candidate for Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs; and Han Duck-soo, candidate for Prime Minister. Photo by Transition Committee Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Voices are gaining strength that to prevent so-called revolving-door appointments during regime changes and to increase the appointment of young talents to high public offices, represented by 'ministers in their 30s,' it is necessary to reform perceptions and systems such as 'bureaucratic favoritism' and the 'Public Officials Ethics Act.' President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol pledged during his candidacy to appoint 'ministers in their 30s and private sector experts,' but since structural difficulties exist, it is said that the political sphere should take the lead in changing perceptions and improving systems.

Professor Seo Jeong-geon of Kyung Hee University's Department of Political Science and Diplomacy explained on the 21st, "There is still the enormous power held by bureaucrats under the long-standing bureaucrat-centered structure." The customary practice of bureaucrats with political or public office experience rushing into election campaigns ahead of elections also influences this. Lee Kwang-jae, Secretary General of the Korea Manifesto Practice Headquarters, diagnosed, "The reason why a 'desk fight' breaks out when a presidential campaign is formed is because when selecting the cabinet, they look at whether someone participated in the election campaign or not," adding, "As a result, people who were on 'this side' in the previous government move to 'that side' this time."

There is also an analysis that the Public Officials Ethics Act, which was established to restrict private employment of public officials, ironically blocks private sector experts from entering public office. According to the Public Officials Ethics Act, public officials are restricted from employment in companies for three years after retirement, considering potential conflicts of interest. Because of this, those who build careers in private companies or need to maintain their livelihood tend to avoid public office. On the other hand, positions such as law firm advisors or outside directors of large corporations are generally not subject to employment restrictions, causing problems as they are used as 'channels' between public office and corporations.

Regarding this, a representative from the Ministry of Personnel Management stated, "The employment review system has been continuously strengthened, and law firm advisors and outside directors of large corporations are also included in the review," adding, "However, from the perspective of freedom of occupational choice, there is no legal basis to restrict if there is no relevance between the duties of public office and the company."

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