Do-or-Die Bet on Elections Creates Personnel Crisis at Presidential Office

Serious Aftershock of Limping Personnel Reshuffles—

The civil affairs adviser’s office, now headed by Park Jeong-kyu, is facing a vacuum in operations as Audit and Official Discipline Secretary Yi Seok-tae expressed his willingness for resignation, following the lead taken by Audit and Inspection Secretary Yang In-seok. Some people are concerned with the unstable co-habitation of Civil Affairs Secretary Park and Civil Affairs Adviser Yi Ho-cheol, citing the difference in their views. “Those who are qualified do not want to work with us while those who want to are not qualified,” Pak said, muttering about the lack of a pool of human resources.

After the resignation of Yoo In-tae as presidential political affairs secretary, the operations of the political affairs office were brought to a halt. As a contingency measure, public relations secretary Yi Byong-wan is doubling as political affairs secretary until the opening is filled. There are concerns in the presidential office that the contingency system will continue until the April 15 National Assembly elections as the position of political affairs secretary is seen as one of the openings reserved for candidates who lose the elections. Since Cheon Ki-moon was named as protocol secretary after a stint as political affairs and planning secretary, the effective team leader position of political affairs is still vacant. Now, political affairs adviser Yoon Hoo-deok is doing the jobs alone which used to be done by the political affairs secretary 1, 2, and himself collectively. Criticism has surfaced that the position of political affairs secretary is a consolation prize for an electoral defeat.

The position of foreign affairs secretary has yet to be filled since Ban Ki-moon was promoted to minister of foreign affairs and trade. A reshuffle at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, caused by pejorative remarks by its officials on the president, led a stalled appointment of a new foreign affairs secretary. The position of presidential attaché 1 has been vacant for 10 months since former attaché Yeo Taek-su resigned for his implication in the Yang Gil-seung bribe scandal.

Where is a pool of human resources?—

The personnel vacuum in the presidential office is the telltale evidence that its human resources pool is vulnerable. Two shakeups, which took place in August and December of last year, were merely tinkering. Many presidential staffers left the office to run in the elections, causing difficulty in finding their replacements.

The presidential personnel secretary office stressed that there are a total of 400-500 candidates for ministers or assistant minister position, with 20-30 for each department. While the cabinet and public corporations use this human resources pool well, personnel management at the presidential office is politically driven, which sets itself apart from the pool of bureaucrats and which reveals the limitations of a non-mainstream president’s labor pool.

As all of the big three--the chief of staff, civil affairs secretary and political affair secretary--resigned, the personnel management system has been sputtering.

Why Is Personnel Management Shaky?—

Some analysts said the crux of the presidential office’s biased personnel management lied with a combination of a code-driven, reward-granting personnel management style and the lack of a human resource pool. The reason why the position of presidential attaché 1 is still vacant is that it is difficult to find a member of the inner circle who understands President Roh well.

Demand for the complete review of presidential personnel management is increasingly gaining a hearing.

“The presidential office must become an attractive workplace, regardless of the code each staffer has.”

An assistant minister-level figure said, “President Roh has been emphasizing the importance of systematic operations. However, when the personnel management system in his own office began to fizzle, his argument became less persuasive in the government cabinet.” A former presidential secretary said, “Code-driven personnel management has led to ramshackle measures and a vicious circle to an exhausted labor pool.”

Young-Hae Choi yhchoi65@donga.com