[Inside Chodong] Fairness and Common Sense Falling Short of Public Expectations

by Jo Inkyung

Published 21 Apr.2022 11:05(KST)

Health and Welfare Minister nominee Jeong Ho-young is holding a press conference to clarify allegations related to preferential treatment for his child's medical school transfer admission and military service corruption on the 17th at the auditorium of the National Medical Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

"(A child's transfer admission to medical school) may cause misunderstandings, but please consider whether children must be sent to different schools just because their father is at that school."

Jeong Ho-young, nominee for Minister of Health and Welfare, is facing allegations of 'dad's privilege' regarding whether he gave special favors for his son and daughter’s transfer admission to the medical school at Kyungpook National University while serving as vice president and president of Kyungpook National University Hospital. There are also suspicious eyes on the unclear process of his son's military service classification changing from Grade 2 to Grade 4 (social service agent).

Jeong has voluntarily held press conferences and issued explanations daily, insisting that "there was no special treatment." President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol also appeared to defend Jeong’s allegations, saying, "There must be clear facts of wrongdoing." Jang Je-won, chief of staff to the president-elect, went further, saying, "No matter where the children enter or try to get a job, they should not be discriminated against."

From Jeong’s perspective, he may feel wronged, and his explanation that there was no special treatment may be true. However, despite ongoing controversy, it is unacceptable to justify it with attitudes like "there is no legal problem" or to ask people to "consider it." If he did not anticipate that such a serious issue involving his children's admission and military service could cause controversy, he clearly failed to understand the expectations of our people who long for fairness and common sense. If he accepted the ministerial nomination and passed the personnel screening despite knowing the potential issues, it would mean he underestimated the morality required of high-ranking officials or disregarded the public.

The unchanging fact is that "two children were admitted side by side to the medical school where their father holds a high position." Even if it is not illegal, there is a high possibility of a conflict of interest, and this alone is hard to accept by our society’s common sense and public sentiment. The professor networks that allow participation as co-authors on papers, the information that enabled them to meet qualifications under the medical school transfer system operated temporarily for only four years?these are opportunities that ordinary citizens find difficult to grasp, truly a "world of their own." From the perspective of ordinary citizens, both former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk and nominee Jeong Ho-young appear unfair.

The public’s expectations for the new government, which emphasizes "fairness and common sense," are high. Even if Jeong explains the allegations during the upcoming confirmation hearing, it is doubtful whether the public will accept him as a suitable minister. As experienced in the Cho Kuk incident three years ago, regardless of the Ministry of Education’s audit results or medical institutions’ inspection outcomes, public opinion will be divided and questions of credibility will follow. Already, demands are being made to apply strict standards and strong compulsory investigations just as with former Minister Cho.

If political strife surrounding Jeong hampers the new government even before its launch, stable governance will become practically impossible. Even if appointed minister, can Jeong, burdened with a mountain of allegations, properly perform the urgent duties of the Minister of Health and Welfare, such as COVID-19 normalization, national pension reform, and birth rate recovery? From the standpoint of fairness and common sense demanded by the public, it would be better for Jeong to voluntarily resign at this point to ease the new government’s burden.

/Jo In-kyung, Deputy Head of Biohealth Department ikjo@