Former agriculture bureaucrat likely to head KRA
By Lee Hyo-sik
Lee Yang-ho
A former senior official of the agriculture ministry will likely become the new chairman of the scandal-ridden Korea Racing Authority (KRA), replacing outgoing Hyun Myung-kwan who is accused of offering undue favors to President Park Geun-hye’s confidant Choi Soon-sil.
According to officials at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) Tuesday, Lee Yang-ho, who served various key posts in the ministry over more than 30 years, has been leading the pack of 10 candidates vying for the much-coveted post.
If appointed, he is widely expected to take sweeping measures to overhaul the KRA, which has been implicated in the unprecedented influence-peddling scandal for allegedly providing special favors to Choi’s daughter Chung Yoo-ra, a dressage competitor.
Lee, who also served as the head of the Rural Development Administration (RDA) from September 2013 to August 2016, will likely dismiss a number of senior KRA officials that helped former chairman Hyun pursue his personal interests through the public organization.
The KRA operates three horseracing tracks and other equestrian facilities across the country, earning more than 8 trillion won ($7 billion) in annual sales.
According to MAFRA, a committee overseeing the management of state-run companies at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance has selected Lee and KRA executive Park Yang-tae as two financial candidates.
Agriculture Minister Kim Jae-soo plans to forward the recommendations this week to the acting president, Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, who will then appoint one of them as the KRA’s next chairman.
“The agriculture minister will present the recommendations to Prime Minister Hwang as soon as the necessary paperwork is completed,” a ministry official said. “We are not sure when Hwang will appoint the new KRA head because he has many other pending policy issues to take care of.”
A person familiar with the matter, who declined to be named, said Lee will likely be put in charge of the state-run firm, given his proven track record of public service.
“He has handled a wide range of agriculture policy issues over the years and knows exactly how KRA should operate to best serve the public,” he said. “An outsider should be appointed to oversee the overhaul of the scandal-stricken KRA. Lee is the right choice.”
Park Yang-tae is supported by company employees, but his quick promotion within the KRA during former chairman Hyun’s three-year term has raised suspicions that he has special ties with people close to President Park.
Hyun whose term ended on Dec. 7 had previously been expected to serve for one more year. But the former Samsung Construction & Trade CEO was forced to exit amid allegations he mobilized the KRA to offer undue favors to Choi and her daughter.
In November, prosecutors raided the KRA headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, confiscating documents and other materials to investigate the firm’s alleged connection with the President’s confidant.