[Editorial] Does Presidential Transition Team Decide on Every Policy?

Concern is growing over the activities of the presidential transition team, which is an interim organization for the take-over job as the name says. After its overflowing enthusiasm and lack of administrative experiences are taken into consideration, it gives the impression that it decides on every policy beyond its power. Recently some government agencies are just trying to meet the demand of the transition team. It is difficult to determine whether the government is conducting state affairs or the transition team is. Moreover, ideas are confused even within the transition committee, so it is hard to figure out in which direction the team is moving on policy.

A case in point is the Gyeongin Canal project, for which the transition team decided first to stop the project, but the next day it changed its mind. This is only half of the story. The team decided to allow public employees to organize trade unions, which is now creating a stir. Also, it is currently divided on relaxing the limit to the investment of the nation’s certain conglomerates in other companies, and the team and the Ministry of Labor are at odds on the President-elect’s campaign pledge "equal pay for equal labor." These cases raise the question of what the transition team’s role is.

According to the law on the take-over of the president’s job, the transition team’s work is "understanding and preparation." First, it should understand the current government organization, functions, and budget status. Second, it should prepare for mapping out the new government’s basis of policy and the inauguration ceremony. The law doesn’t provide the team with the right to decide on policy. The members of the team should keep in mind why the right to map out plans on the management of human and material resources and to analyze and establish major policies was omitted from the law.

When figuring out and preparation is not fully done, to devise policy is dangerous. In effect, it is the cabinet that has the official right to map out and enforce policies. It is doubtful that the new government will accept policies improvised by the transition team without a hitch.

There are only 20 days to go before the transition committee finishes its job. As the U.S. transition team said, they should be careful like information collector, or they will result in frustration in the future. The idea is that the transition team is not a government.