By Lee Tae-hoon
Staff Reporter

A lawmaker has disclosed a list of retired ranking government officials who have unlawfully landed well-paid corporate jobs.

Of 12,726 bureaucrats who retired between 2006 and 2008, 68 have worked for large companies without reporting it to the Public Service Ethics Committee, Rep. Kwon Sun-taik of the Liberty Forward Party said Saturday.

The Public Service Ethics Act states that senior officials must obtain the ethics committee's approval in the first two years of retirement before commencing a career in a company, whose capital and sales exceed 5 billion won ($4.3 million) and 15 billion won, respectively.

Many heavyweights are included in the list, such as a former minister of information and communication; a former minister of construction and transportation; a former minister of gender equality and family; a former vice minister of defense; and a former secretary general of the Board of Audit and Inspection, Kwon said.

The list is based on a report submitted to Kwon by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security.

The ethics act has several loopholes. It neither stipulates punishments for offenders, nor prevents bureaucrats descending into positions with influential law firms, many of whose capital is smaller than 5 billion won.

For instance, former Prime Minister Han Seung-soo has been serving as a senior advisor for Kim and Chang, Korea's largest law firm, since October, just a month after his retirement as the nation's No. 2 government official.

In this regard, the ministry will push a law revision to address such problems, a spokesman said.

leeth@koreatimes.co.kr