Opposing the Government Has Its Price

The government discharged a director of the Ministry of Finance and Economy (MOFE) on February 7 for leaking a report titled: “Mid to Long-Term Taxation Reform Measures.”

It is the first time that a MOFE official has been removed from his post since the ministry’s launch in 1998. The discharged director will be investigated by Cheong Wa Dae, the office of the prime minister, and the National Intelligence Service.

However, some argue that the dismissal is unfair because Uri Party lawmaker Choi Jae-cheon, who recently disclosed internal National Security Service data regarding the strategic flexibility of U.S. forces in Korea, was only investigated, not reprimanded.

Moreover, the report in question was not a classified one; it was scheduled to go up for public hearing on February 20.

Regarding the leaking of the taxation reform report, which Dong-A Ilbo reported exclusively, the MOFE announced that it held a meeting of its personnel appointment committee and discharged the deputy head of its taxation reform planning team Yoon Young-seon from his post yesterday.

The ministry also gave a serious warning to Kim Yong-min, head of the team, and a caution to the team manager.

“The reason why the ministry dismissed Yoon, holding him the most accountable for the leak, is because he disclosed the data without reporting it to his superiors,” said MOFE public relations manager Kim Kyo-sik. “No outside pressure was put on us to sack him.”

Apart from Yoon’s dismissal, it is reported that the Korea Institute of Public Finance (chaired by Choi Yong-seon), a national policy research center, ordered Noh Young-hoon, who released a report that said, “The government’s August 31 real-estate measures will do little to stabilize housing prices,” to stop his research activities last month.