Gov’t faces criticism over policy reversals and decision-making processes

The competence of President Yoon Suk Yeol's administration is under scrutiny following the rapid retraction of a policy banning the direct purchase of items from overseas without the Korea Certification Mark (KC) after just three days. Additionally, controversy is growing over a policy restricting driving qualifications for the elderly. The ruling party attributes these issues to the absence of a "Red Team" within the government. A Red Team is designed to challenge policies and identify potential issues during the decision-making process. The lack of such a team is cited as a major factor contributing to the recurring policy confusion. Furthermore, there is a shortage of policy and administrative experts with political insight in both the presidential office and government ministries. This deficiency hampers the government's ability to gauge public reception and the impact on those affected by new policies. The ongoing policy confusion, combined with the ruling party's leadership transition following its defeat in the April 10 general elections, has led to increasing calls for the government to improve its administrative competence.

In response to the "69-hour workweek" controversy sparked by the Ministry of Employment and Labor's working hour reform plan in March last year, an informal Red Team of young administrators was established under Lee Kwan-seop, the senior secretary for government affairs. Despite this measure, the team reportedly failed to prevent the latest policy missteps. "The combination of bureaucratic rigidity and a top-down decision-making process in the government has undermined checks and balances," said one ruling party official. Another official observed, "Previously, even on minor matters, the opinions of Generation MZ administrators were considered, and a Red Team could offer suggestions. However, proposing changes now makes bureaucrats uneasy and generates opposition, so a Red Team has recently been sidelined."

The dissonance within the government was also revealed over the resumption of short selling. Recently, the market was stirred when Financial Supervisory Service Chairman Lee Bok-hyun hinted at a "partial resumption of short selling in June." However, a presidential office official dismissed the FSS Chairman’s implication: "The government's stance on short selling remains unchanged. There is no change in the stance of not resuming short selling until illegal short selling is eliminated and the investor confidence system is in place." This confusion has been passed on to investors.


Jun-Il Kim jikim@donga.com