[Gwanga in] "More Concern than Expectation"... Turbulent Ministry of Environment Ahead of Personnel Changes

"There is talk of appointing a figure from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport as the Director General of the Planning and Coordination Office, which oversees the Ministry of Environment's resources, air quality, and overall operations, but honestly, concerns outweigh expectations."

A Ministry of Environment official said this ahead of the upcoming first-grade director personnel appointments at the end of this month. While various ministries are conducting high-ranking personnel changes in line with the second-term cabinet of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, the Ministry of Environment is particularly unsettled. This is largely due to the unusual collective resignation of all three first-grade directors last month, which has drawn attention to the reasons behind their resignations and the appointments of their successors.

According to government sources on the 18th, the Ministry of Environment recently completed the retirement procedures for the Director General of the Planning and Coordination Office and the Director General of the Water Management Policy Office. Currently, the vacant positions are temporarily filled by the bureau chiefs of each office acting as interim directors. The Ministry initially planned to conduct retirements and new appointments simultaneously. However, due to delays, it is expected that the new director appointments will be announced as early as next week, followed by the completion of bureau and division chief appointments.

According to so-called hallway communications among ministry staff discussing the personnel changes, various rumors are circulating. A bureau chief-level official originally from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport who transferred to the Ministry of Environment in 2018 is strongly rumored to be the new Director General of the Planning and Coordination Office. This has raised questions about whether placing this individual, who would oversee all policies within the ministry, is appropriate. The official is known to have long been in charge of water resource policies at both the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Environment. The fact that two of the three first-grade director candidates are from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has also caused a sense of relative deprivation among employees who have served long-term in the Ministry of Environment, due to concerns that the focus on key policies traditionally handled by the Ministry of Environment may diminish.

Questions remain about the background of the collective resignation of all first-grade directors. The official reason given is that the mass resignation reflects Minister Han Hwa-jin’s strong intention for personnel reform, but the timing coincides with the appointment of former National Policy Secretary Lim Sang-jun as Vice Minister of the Environment last month, leading to speculation that it may reflect the intentions of the Yongsan administration. In particular, there are many opinions that it is still too early for the Director General of Climate and Carbon Policy, who submitted a resignation and is a 38th class civil service exam passer, to step down.

Opinions are also divided regarding Vice Minister Lim’s actions immediately after his appointment. Upon moving to the Ministry of Environment, Vice Minister Lim established a 'Red Team' centered around about ten bureau chiefs and staff members. The Red Team focuses on innovative measures to reduce side effects of environmental regulations and lessen the burden on businesses, but some criticize that this may lead to neglect of the Ministry of Environment’s original roles of regulation and protection. Another Ministry of Environment official said, "While we agree that the organization is meant to gather ideas for work innovation, there is also a self-deprecating view that it might further entrench the label of being the 'Ministry of Industry’s second team.'"

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