Outgoing Heads of Public Institutions under Moon Administration... Focus on Discussions to Amend the Public Officials Ethics Act

Ruling and Opposition Parties Agree on the Need to Align Presidential and Public Institution Heads' Terms
Details Such as Applicable Subjects and Terms Must Be Discussed... Some Concerned About Confusion from Simultaneous Replacement, Suggest Selective Replacement

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] As public institution heads appointed during the Moon Jae-in administration have consecutively tendered their resignations amid 'holdover' controversies, attention is focusing on legislative discussions to align the terms of the president and public institution heads.

According to the government on the 13th, Lim Chuntaek, President of the Korea Energy Economics Institute, expressed his intention to resign the day before and emphasized the need to amend the "Act on the Management of Public Institutions (Public Institutions Act)" to align the terms of the president and public institution heads. Lim, classified as a pro-Moon figure, was appointed as the head of the Korea Energy Economics Institute in September last year during President Moon's tenure.

Lim stated, "In our country, which adopts a presidential system, it has been my long-held belief that heads of government-affiliated institutions should have terms aligned with the president," adding, "Now, to resolve the issue of public institution heads' terms being separate from the law and reality, it is necessary to amend the Public Institutions Act through bipartisan agreement to synchronize the terms of the president and institution heads."

The intention is to introduce a system where political appointees, such as public institution heads, step down upon regime change, similar to the United States, to prevent repetitive, wasteful political disputes and national administration inefficiencies caused by guaranteeing the terms of public institution heads appointed by previous governments. Earlier, Hong Jangpyo, head of the Korea Development Institute (KDI) and architect of the Moon administration's "income-led growth" policy, also stirred controversy by publicly criticizing Prime Minister Han Duck-soo's demand for his resignation in July before tendering his own resignation.

Hong Jang-pyo, former President of the Korea Development Institute (KDI). / Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

Currently, the National Assembly is discussing amendments to the Public Institutions Act aimed at aligning the terms of the president and public institution heads (proposed by Rep. Jung Woo-taek of the People Power Party and Reps. Oh Ki-hyung, Kim Du-kwan, and Kim Seong-hwan of the Democratic Party). A 3+3 consultative body, including policy chiefs from both ruling and opposition parties, held one discussion on this bill earlier this month, but only confirmed differences in positions regarding the scope of application and the status of current institution heads appointed by previous governments.

In the future discussions on the Public Institutions Act amendment, ruling and opposition parties are expected to continue negotiations on details such as the scope of application, term length, and exceptions. One of the biggest issues is the scope of public institution heads whose terms will be aligned with the president's term. Currently, there are 130 positions for heads of public enterprises and quasi-governmental institutions: 70 appointed by the president and 60 appointed by heads of relevant ministries. The proposals by Rep. Jung Woo-taek and Rep. Kim Du-kwan limit the scope to institution heads appointed by the president, while the proposals by Rep. Oh Ki-hyung and Rep. Kim Seong-hwan expand the scope to include those appointed by both the president and heads of relevant ministries. Whether to include other public institutions such as national research institutes including KDI, the Export-Import Bank, and the Industrial Bank is also a key issue. Excluding other public institutions from the scope of presidential term linkage raises concerns about a recurrence of the Hong Jangpyo KDI head incident. Discussions are also needed on exceptions to presidential term linkage, establishing legal grounds, and the timing of implementation.

Although it is time to discuss aligning the terms of the president and public institution heads for shared national philosophy and efficient governance, some express concerns about side effects. Changing all public institution heads upon regime change without considering expertise could cause confusion and undermine the autonomy and independence of institutions. The Ministry of Economy and Finance has also expressed concerns about frequent executive replacements disrupting project continuity and de facto term shortening leading to neglect of duties regarding the amendment to the Public Institutions Act.

A government official said, "Replacing all 130 public institution heads simultaneously could cause confusion," adding, "Since there are public institution heads with outstanding expertise appointed by previous administrations, it is necessary to consider a method where the presidential transition committee selectively replaces some public institution heads upon regime change."

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