Park's reward appointment
The ruling Saenuri Party’s then-presidential candidate Park Geun-hye, left, shakes hands with Kim Sung-joo, CEO of Sungjoo Group, when Park appointed Kim to be her chief strategist during her 2012 election campaign in this file photo taken on October 2012. / Yonhap
By Yi Whan-woo
Senior appointments and how they are made can greatly affect the success or failure of a president.
By this standard, President Park Geun-hye’s appointment of Kim Sung-joo, a chaebol scion who runs a global bag brand, as chief of the Korea Red Cross (KRC), Thursday, has raised the eyebrows of many experts as well as ordinary people.
Kim, owner of the MCM brand, worked for Park’s presidential campaign. When Kim left, she promised to support Park from the sidelines.
In other words, it’s hard to deny that the appointment was a kind of a reward for Kim’s help because she does not have any previous experience for the job to which she had been appointed.
Governed by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the KRC’s responsibilities include emergency relief and public health services. Kim will begin her three-year term as the KRC president on Oct. 8.
The job has often been held by former ministers with high levels of expertise. In other words, it is not a cushy job that can be given away to a favored friend.
This type of appointment is nothing new for Park.
Kim was chosen in the wake of a series of controversies over Cheong Wa Dae’s poor screening procedures in selecting government officials, as well as appointments of Park’s confidants to head public organizations.
“The appointment of Kim shows the President is not aware of public opinion, and is even ignoring it,” said Choi Chang-ryul, a politics professor at Yongin University.
Another expert expressed a similar view.
“Park has maintained a consistent approval rating from her supporters, but it could fall sharply if she continues to perform poorly in the screening process,” said Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University.
Jun Jin-han, the manager at the Center for Freedom of Information and Transparency, a civic activist group, pointed out the President should pick a new secretary for education and culture as quickly as possible.
Jun was referring to Song Kwang-yong, the former senior presidential secretary for education and culture who abruptly resigned Saturday after Park picked him for the post on June 12.
Cheong Wa Dae initially announced that Song, the former Seoul National University of Education president, quit because he wanted to return to teaching.
Between May and June, two prime minister nominees ― Ahn Dae-hee and Moon Chang-keuk ― withdrew their names from consideration for the post after facing public criticism over their pasts.
Ahn, a former Supreme Court Justice, was criticized for ethically disputed business practices as a lawyer. Moon, a former journalist, triggered controversy over unpatriotic remarks he had made.
In August, the appointment of Korean-American actor and comedian Johnny Yune as the auditor of the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) also created a stir.
Rumors circulated in July that Park sacked then-Culture, Sports, Tourism Minister Ryu Jin-ryong for opposing her move to appoint Yune. The state-run KTO is governed by the ministry.