Responsibility Debate Over Jeong Sun-shin's Inadequate Verification 'Spreads'... Inevitable Blow to Government Momentum

Presidential Office "Improvement of Senior Public Official Personnel Verification"
Responsibility Debate over Inadequate Verification by Ministry of Justice's Personnel Information Management Unit

Attorney Jeong Soon-shin was removed from his position as head of the National Police Agency’s National Investigation Headquarters just one day after his appointment, sparking a growing wave of criticism targeting the Presidential Office for inadequate vetting. The opposition is also intensifying calls for the dismissal of Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon, who is effectively responsible for personnel decisions. However, the Presidential Office appears to be distancing itself from direct statements, emphasizing improvements in personnel screening through technical measures.

According to political circles on the 27th, the Presidential Office has decided to improve the high-ranking public officials’ personnel screening system in response to the Jeong Soon-shin personnel scandal. The core of the improvement is that public records such as the school life records of high-ranking public officials’ children were not previously included in the scope of materials used for personnel screening.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The problem lies in the political and public opinion atmosphere. When the issue of Attorney Jeong’s child’s school violence was first reported in November 2018, Jeong was serving as a human rights inspector, President Yoon was a chief prosecutor, Minister Han was the third deputy chief prosecutor, and Lee Won-mo, the Presidential Office’s personnel secretary, was a regular prosecutor?all working at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office. Although the reports referred to an anonymous high-ranking prosecutor at the time, there are suggestions that current personnel decision-makers might have been aware of the issue.

Moreover, President Yoon has long emphasized the need for thorough eradication of school violence through cooperation among the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, police, and local governments. However, criticism has arisen over the failure to include disciplinary issues related to his child’s school violence in the personnel screening process. The pre-screening questionnaire asks about criminal trials, punishments, pardons, or reinstatements concerning the individual, spouse, and direct descendants, but it does not inquire about disciplinary actions themselves.

In particular, since the Personnel Information Management Unit was established under the Ministry of Justice, responsibility for Minister Han has also been raised mainly within political circles. On this day, Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized, “They abolished the perfectly functioning Civil Affairs Office and, while talking about transparency, established the Ministry of Justice’s Personnel Information Management Unit, but it seems they completely neglected personnel screening.”

Inside the Presidential Office, changes in approval ratings are also being closely monitored. There are concerns that the national approval rating, which had recently been recovering after the previous ‘political interference’ controversy, might decline again. Since the Presidential Office and government plan to accelerate efforts on major national agendas next month, including low birthrate and three major reform tasks, such setbacks could weaken momentum. The Presidential Office’s distancing from calls for Minister Han’s dismissal is in line with this context.

Although the drop in approval ratings due to Attorney Jeong’s removal has not yet been reflected, a public opinion poll showing a slowdown in approval rating gains has been released. According to Realmeter’s announcement on the day, based on a survey commissioned by Media Tribune conducted from the 20th to the 24th with 2,509 voters aged 18 and over nationwide (margin of error 95%, confidence level ±2.0 percentage points; survey method 97% wireless, 3% wired; response rate 3.4%; detailed information available on the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website), President Yoon’s positive evaluation of national administration remained at 40.4%, the same as the previous week.

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