President’s Office Expands Secretary Posts

President Roh reshuffled his office staff on December 21 by promoting the post of personnel adviser to the senior secretary level, and by turning the organization of two senior secretaries, six advisers, and 35 secretaries into one of two senior secretaries, six advisers, and 32 secretaries.

Concerning the position of senior personnel secretary, there used to be two secretaries, but it now has extended its power and tasks with three secretaries, each one responsible for personnel management, personnel institutions, and fair personnel allocation respectively. The secretary for the people’s participation was merged into the secretary for policy process and reengineering, which is renamed as the senior secretary for participation and innovation.

As for the office of the senior secretary for political affairs, the first and second secretaries were merged into one. As for the office of the senior secretary, the first secretary affairs was renamed as the secretary for civil affairs. The second secretary and the legal affairs secretary were transferred to the office of the senior legal secretary. Concerning the taskforce for the national agenda, while it maintains the existing structure led by a policy senior secretary and a secretary, it changed policy planning, policy coordination, and policy management secretaries respectively into policy planning, industrial policy and social policy secretaries so that they can share the tasks with other executive organizations. The committee for the East Asian Economic hub and the committee for the equal regional development, the two committees aimed at the president’s mandate, were transferred to the presidential advisory and planning committee, which appoints a new position of national agenda secretary

Here are the details of the shakeup: Yun Hoo-deok, 46 years old, the policy aide to the minister of government administration and home affairs was named the secretary for political affairs; Yun Jae-woong, 45, the bureau chief of the government information agency was appointed to the post of secretary for publicity for national affairs; Yi Kwon Sang, 50, personnel bureau chief at the ministry of government administration and home affairs appointed to the post of personnel management secretary; Prof Kim Pan-seok, 47, to the post of secretary for personnel institutions; and Chung Young-ae, women’s policy director at the North Chungcheong province government to the fair personnel allocation secretary position.

Twelve secretaries were dismissed or have submitted their resignations, including those who were planning to run in the next year’s National Assembly elections, such as Yu Hoon-yeol, the secretary for event planning and organization; Seo Kap-won, the first secretary for political affairs; and Kim Hyun-mi, the second secretary of political affairs, said presidential spokesman Yun Tai-young.

Jeong-Hun Kim jnghn@donga.com