Successive High-handed Personnel Administration in Designating High Officials

A dispute has been churning over the temporary position for which the Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) changed regulations because the first and second successor were designated for the post of vice president of KCCI, while controversy regarding the high-handed personnel administration has not ended since Roh`s Administration began last February.

The KCCI held a temporary board of directors meeting at the Hilton hotel on May 9 and created a new position called the ‘full-time deputy for the vice-president’ by changing current regulations. The KCCI then designated a former member of the permanent Trade Committee in Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (Ministry of Commerce and Industry) Ha Myung-gun to the position. The deputy for vice-president Ha used to work as head of MDP.

This measure has been taken because a high official in the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy Ha was designated after Ro’s Administration began, while full time vice president Kim Hyo-seong had been designated again for the position after his term completed last March.

Vice president Kim is also someone who used to work as assistant secretary to the Vice-Minister at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy and Chief of the Small and Medium Business Administration. He had been designated as a full time vice president (previously also by the high-handed personnel administration) for the KCCI as well as the Seoul Chamber of Commerce & Industry in 1997.

This was his third designation to the position of vice president. One member of the Assembly who attended the temporary meeting where 83 of 110 members of the Assembly and the executive members had gathered said: “As Vice president Kim was reappointed, we created a new position for Ha previously designated. Since there had been little objection to the changing of the regulations, we just settled it without putting it to vote.”

The full-time vice president is in charge of managing the general business of the SCCI (Seoul Chamber of Commerce & Industry) and of managing the practical business for the Five Economic Organization Association. A private car is given to all executive members of the SCCI.

“The executive director position which is currently empty doesn’t match his career, so we made the new position,” the SCCI said. “In a way, a high official who used to work for the government could be beneficial to the SCCI in many ways.”

In this matter, the deputy of vice president Ha said, “I don’t feel like talking about it.” The president of Heavy Industry, KCCI and SCCI, Park Yong-seong and vice president Kim could not be contacted. If SCCI is changed into a civil economic organization established under the KCCI, the Seoul-si government would only be reported to concerning changing regulations that are required according to Ministry of Commerce and Industry laws.

The dispute surrounding the high-handed personnel administration has not ended since the Roh Administration had outwardly stated its position as to the termination of the high-handed personnel administration.

The Korea Securities Dealers Association Labor Union went on strike objecting to the high-handed personnel administration as soon as Heo No-jung was designated as chief executive member for KOSDAQ. He had previously worked as a consultant for the tax system.

Han Jung-gi was designated president of the Korea Securities Computer Corporation on April 30. He used to work as a consultant for the tax system in the Ministry of Finance and Economy, as well as former chief judge for national taxes.

Yoo Ji-chang, former deputy chairman of the Financial Supervisory Commission, chief of financial policy in the Ministry of Finance and Economy and financial secretary at the Blue House, was designated president of the Korea Development Bank, which is under the control of national policy. The appointment of the new president of KBS Jeong Yeon-ju was also an issue.

Sun-Woo Kim sublime@donga.com