Yoon should restore democracy as promised
President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol has reaffirmed his plan to eliminate the office of the senior presidential secretary for civil affairs. The office has been used to "control political opponents and conduct clandestine probes into civilians under the excuse of verifying personnel," Yoon said during a meeting with Ahn Cheol-soo, chairman of the presidential transition committee, Monday. He stressed the need to terminate the bad legacy of former presidents.
The office has been in charge of looking into possible corruption involving the president's relatives and high-ranking officials and vetting Cabinet nominees. It has also been overseeing law enforcement agencies such as the prosecution and police, the National Intelligence Service, the Board of Audit and Inspection, and the National Tax Service. However, the presidential office has been criticized for wielding excessive power arbitrarily without being checked by any government agency.
Abolishing the office is part of Yoon's campaign commitment to restrict the "unlimited" presidential authority and prevent the abuse of power by the head of state. It demonstrates the President-elect's strong determination to do away with the bad legacies of the emperor-like president as seen in his predecessors including former President Park Geun-hye, who was impeached and ousted for corruption and influence-peddling. We welcome such a move as it is designed to fulfill Yoon's pledge to restore fairness, justice, rule of law and democracy.
Yoon has also vowed to appoint a special inspector charged with preventing corruption involving the president's family members and relatives as well as ranking officials. The post was introduced in 2014 under the Park administration, but has been left vacant since September 2016 under the Moon Jae-in government. The opposition People Power Party has called on Moon to fill the post to dig into alleged irregularities surrounding the presidential office.
Yoon is expected to carry out a sweeping overhaul of the government's structure with a focus on turning the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae into a smaller and less powerful institution. For this, he has reaffirmed his campaign promise to relocate the presidential office to the Seoul Government Complex in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul.
We urge the transition committee to work out detailed measures to implement Yoon's promises in good faith. Yet, what is worrisome is that the prosecution will likely gain more authority in the process of restructuring government organizations. Yoon, a former prosecutor general, has already pledged to rid the justice minister of the right to command the prosecution for specific investigations. He has also vowed to reform the newly created Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) to limit its investigative rights.
This raises concerns over the possible concentration of law enforcement power on the prosecution, to the extent of the nation being called the "Republic of Prosecutors." The transition committee needs to prepare measures to strike a balance between the roles of the prosecution and the police. We hope the incoming administration will strengthen the rule of law in a balanced way so that the country can become a mature democracy.
President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol has reaffirmed his plan to eliminate the office of the senior presidential secretary for civil affairs. The office has been used to "control political opponents and conduct clandestine probes into civilians under the excuse of verifying personnel," Yoon said during a meeting with Ahn Cheol-soo, chairman of the presidential transition committee, Monday. He stressed the need to terminate the bad legacy of former presidents.
The office has been in charge of looking into possible corruption involving the president's relatives and high-ranking officials and vetting Cabinet nominees. It has also been overseeing law enforcement agencies such as the prosecution and police, the National Intelligence Service, the Board of Audit and Inspection, and the National Tax Service. However, the presidential office has been criticized for wielding excessive power arbitrarily without being checked by any government agency.
Abolishing the office is part of Yoon's campaign commitment to restrict the "unlimited" presidential authority and prevent the abuse of power by the head of state. It demonstrates the President-elect's strong determination to do away with the bad legacies of the emperor-like president as seen in his predecessors including former President Park Geun-hye, who was impeached and ousted for corruption and influence-peddling. We welcome such a move as it is designed to fulfill Yoon's pledge to restore fairness, justice, rule of law and democracy.
Yoon has also vowed to appoint a special inspector charged with preventing corruption involving the president's family members and relatives as well as ranking officials. The post was introduced in 2014 under the Park administration, but has been left vacant since September 2016 under the Moon Jae-in government. The opposition People Power Party has called on Moon to fill the post to dig into alleged irregularities surrounding the presidential office.
Yoon is expected to carry out a sweeping overhaul of the government's structure with a focus on turning the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae into a smaller and less powerful institution. For this, he has reaffirmed his campaign promise to relocate the presidential office to the Seoul Government Complex in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul.
We urge the transition committee to work out detailed measures to implement Yoon's promises in good faith. Yet, what is worrisome is that the prosecution will likely gain more authority in the process of restructuring government organizations. Yoon, a former prosecutor general, has already pledged to rid the justice minister of the right to command the prosecution for specific investigations. He has also vowed to reform the newly created Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) to limit its investigative rights.
This raises concerns over the possible concentration of law enforcement power on the prosecution, to the extent of the nation being called the "Republic of Prosecutors." The transition committee needs to prepare measures to strike a balance between the roles of the prosecution and the police. We hope the incoming administration will strengthen the rule of law in a balanced way so that the country can become a mature democracy.
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