Yi Whan-woo is a Korea Times journalist primarily covering finance. He writes in-depth articles on macroeconomy and financial markets and previously covered sports, politics, diplomacy and inter-Korean affairs, among others. Feel free to contact him at yistory@koreatimes.co.kr.
CEOs appointed by ex-gov't rekindle leadership dispute at public organizations
An aerial view of Government Complex Sejong / Yonhap
By Yi Whan-woo
Over 70% of CEOs have more than 1 year remaining before end of term
The Lee Jae-myung administration may have to carry out state affairs with hundreds of CEOs and other top managers at state-run organizations who were appointed under the previous government, as they have considerable time remaining before their tenures expire.
A finding from corporate tracker Leaders Index showed that more than seven out of 10 chiefs at 312 public entities have at least one year remaining in their terms.
Out of the nation's 331 state-run organizations, the 312 include state firms, government-funded associations, research labs and think tanks. The top posts are vacant at the remaining 19 organizations.
Leaders Index said 221 of the 312 public organization chiefs have more than one year left in their terms. Of the 221, 56 leaders were appointed after former conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law on Dec. 3, 2024.
Moreover, 53 of the 56 were appointed after the National Assembly passed a bill to impeach Yoon on Dec. 14.
The finding suggests that Lee's government will need to work with these holdover leaders. But whether they will fully cooperate remains uncertain, according to Shin Se-don, professor emeritus of economics at Sookmyung Women's University.
“Whenever there was a change in government, we repeatedly witnessed an uneasy, uncomfortable coexistence between a new administration and heads of the public organizations from the previous administration,” Shin said.
He noted such discord has chronically haunted new governments, especially due to a string of “midnight appointments” — politically motivated appointments from an outgoing administration in the last hours of its term.
The move is often aimed at solidifying the outgoing administration’s political influence and restricting the incoming administration’s efforts to implement its agenda.
Asked whether the previous administration should be criticized in particular for “midnight appointments,” Shin said, “The Yoon government is merely a tiny part of it, such unfortunate practices have existed for years and even decades.”
The professor pointed out Yoon’s predecessor, former President Moon Jae-in, was also embroiled in a dispute after appointing more than 50 officials when his term was about to end.
Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University, said that the discord “may intensify and get ugly” if the holdover leaders are asked to leave but refuse to do so, as seen in the past.
“The governments in the past argued that replacing these leaders is inevitable in order to normalize management of corresponding public organizations, whereas the targeted leaders asserted that such measures were political oppression,” he said. “The dispute can hardly end amicably and the Lee government should come up with a better way to address the issue.”
Shin Yul suggested revising the law concerning tenure of public organization leaders to start and also expire in tandem with a president’s single, five-year term.
“By matching their terms with a president’s, more collaborative efforts between the government and public organizations can be fostered,” the professor said.