[Reporter’s Notebook] What Did the First Transition Committee in 10 Years Achieve in 49 Days?

Lee Ki-min, Political Reporter at Asia Economy

The 20th Presidential Transition Committee (Transition Committee) ended in a fizzle just 49 days after its launch, making the evaluations of it being the "first transition committee formed in 10 years" and "the fastest transition committee launched 8 days after the presidential election victory" seem meaningless.

After the Transition Committee was launched on March 18, President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol pledged to appoint capable personnel to swiftly implement key campaign promises such as full compensation for COVID-19 losses, immediate realization of a 2 million KRW monthly salary for soldiers, and the abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family as national policy tasks. When reporters asked about the fulfillment of these promises, he showed strong determination by retorting, "Are you saying I lied to the people during the presidential election?"

However, upon examining the Transition Committee’s 110 national policy tasks, there are criticisms that major promises have been significantly revised or rolled back. Regarding full compensation for COVID-19 losses, which attracted attention from small business owners and self-employed individuals, while concrete measures such as pursuing full compensation, emergency debt adjustment, and establishing refinancing guarantees were presented, the decision on the compensation amount was deferred to the new administration.

The 2 million KRW monthly salary for soldiers, which caught the interest of the 2030 generation, a core support base of President-elect Yoon, also saw a retreat. During the presidential campaign, Yoon pledged to immediately implement the 2 million KRW salary for soldiers upon his election, but the Transition Committee changed the plan to gradually raise soldiers’ salaries and reach 2 million KRW by 2025 through an asset-building program.

The issue of abolishing the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family remains a stance the new government intends to pursue, but it was completely omitted from the announced national policy tasks. This is due to the difficulty of amending the Government Organization Act in a situation where the ruling party holds fewer seats than the opposition.

The Transition Committee’s early detachment from public interest is also considered a misstep. By announcing the relocation of the presidential office as its first task, the focus shifted to a conflict between the old and new powers with the Moon Jae-in administration. In the latter part, attention was diverted by the Democratic Party’s push for the "complete prosecution reform" law and the responses from the People Power Party and the Transition Committee.

The personnel verification, which the Transition Committee proudly claimed was the first to use the current administration’s personnel records and management system, has revealed even its inadequacies. Various allegations, including the "dad/husband chance" suspicion, splitting corporate card payments, and reviewing theses in bars, have surfaced, leading to the voluntary resignation of former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education nominee Kim In-cheol, among other candidates who are also under suspicion.

Now, President-elect Yoon must timely and properly demonstrate fairness, common sense, and competence, which he has championed. If the first cabinet personnel appointments and policy implementations of the Yoon Seok-yeol government, starting anew in Yongsan, also end in a fizzle, there will be no public support for the policies they pursue.

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