Leadership Vacancy at Fair Trade Commission... Government Work Report Also Uncertain

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Since the voluntary resignation of Song Okryul, the nominee for the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman, the vacancy for the next head of the FTC has been prolonged. The longer the delay in appointing a new chairman, the more inevitable it is that the resolution of pressing major issues will be hindered.

According to related government departments on the 17th, the new administration's FTC work briefing has been delayed without a concrete schedule being finalized. The FTC originally planned to conduct the work briefing through the appointment of a new FTC chairman by the end of this month. An FTC official stated, "Due to the chairman vacancy, we have not yet received a schedule for the work briefing from the government."

Earlier, on the 4th, President Yoon Seok-yeol nominated Professor Song Okryul of Seoul National University Law School as the FTC chairman, but he voluntarily resigned a week after the nomination due to past inappropriate remarks.

The government is expected to complete the procedure of nominating and appointing a new chairman no earlier than mid-next month, even if done as quickly as possible. Some quarters have mentioned former Vice Chairman Kim Jae-shin as a candidate for the next FTC chairman, but it is known that the likelihood of this is low.

With the FTC chairman position vacant, Vice Chairman Yoon Soo-hyun is currently acting on behalf of the chairman for external duties. As the leadership vacancy lengthens, appointments for the Secretary-General and standing commissioners are also being delayed. The FTC expects high-level personnel appointments to proceed after the new chairman is appointed.

Meanwhile, current FTC Chairman Cho Sung-wook was unable to carry out his schedule until last week due to COVID-19 quarantine after testing positive.

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