Yang Bunam: "The National Assembly Should Oversee Appointments of Public Enterprise Heads"

Bill to Prevent "Parachute Appointments" Proposed
"Need for Institutional Mechanisms to Monitor and Correct Reward-Based Appointments"

Yang Bunam, Member of the National Assembly.

Amid ongoing controversy over appointments based on personal loyalty in the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, a bill has been introduced in the National Assembly to curb "parachute appointments."

On the 6th, Yang Bunam, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (representing Gwangju Seo-gu Eul), proposed a revision to the "Act on the Management of Public Institutions." The amendment would require the Public Institutions Management Committee (hereinafter referred to as "PIMC") to notify the National Assembly of candidates for the heads of public enterprises and allow the Assembly to request a reconsideration of the decision.

The purpose of the amendment is to enable the National Assembly, as the representative body of the people, to monitor and correct the president's unilateral exercise of authority in appointing heads of public enterprises.

The PIMC is an organization under the Ministry of Economy and Finance that deliberates and decides on matters such as the appointment of public enterprise heads. The Minister of Economy and Finance serves as the chair, and the committee is composed of ex officio government officials and individuals appointed by the president. As a result, the president has effectively been able to appoint public institution heads at will, leading to persistent controversy over "parachute appointments" and appointments based on personal loyalty.

Last year, Kim Ojin, a former secretary who oversaw illegal expansion work at the presidential residence, applied for the position of president of Korea Construction Corporation, sparking criticism that it was a reward appointment. In addition, Min Youngsam, president of Korea Broadcast Advertising Corporation, who was controversially appointed due to his association with Kim Keonhee, was found to have submitted an application form with numerous blank sections during the candidate recruitment process.

The amendment would require the PIMC to immediately notify the relevant National Assembly committee of the candidate it has deliberated and approved. The National Assembly would then review the candidate for any disqualifying reasons and, if deemed inappropriate, could request a reconsideration. However, to prevent abuse of the right to request reconsideration, the amendment also includes measures to respect the PIMC's judgment to a certain extent.

Yang emphasized, "As the position of public enterprise president has been used as a 'spoils of war' by the administration, individuals lacking expertise have continued to be appointed. Since the public ultimately bears the consequences, it is essential for the National Assembly to have institutional mechanisms to monitor and correct such appointments."

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