All Three Finalists for KOTRA Presidency Fail to Get Approval

Three final candidates for the presidency of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency failed to get final approval from Cheong Wa Dae.

As such, KOTRA will resume open recruitment for the position.

According to the Ministry of Knowledge and Economy, all three finalists -- Kwon Oh-nam, former president of KOTRA North America, Han Joon-woo, vice president of KOTRA, and Kim Joo-nam, president of KOTRA North America -- were rejected by the administration.

That reflects the government’s tougher personnel verification system. The government has faced a string of problems due to recent personnel changes and its strong campaign to reform state-owned organizations.

No current government official applied in this latest round.

Given the Ministry of Strategy and Finance’s announcement that government officials are not restricted from applying for the top position of state-owned firms, former and incumbent government officials are likely to apply in the new round of open recruitment for the KOTRA presidency.

abc@donga.com