Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
Yoon administration's personnel vetting process draws more flak
The headquarters of the National Office of Investigation in Seodaemun District, Seoul / Yonhap
By Nam Hyun-woo
Presidential office admits 'limitations' in vetting system
By Nam Hyun-woo
The presidential office and police are facing heavy criticism for their failure to properly screen Chung Sun-sin who was named head of the National Office of Investigation, as his son was involved in a school violence case. The case was first reported by the media five years ago.
Former National Office of Investigation head nominee Chung Sun-sin
The presidential office on Saturday advised that it canceled Chung's appointment just a day after President Yoon Suk Yeol named him for the position that would have seen Chung responsible for overseeing police investigation forces nationwide.
Chung, a prosecutor-turned-lawyer, was supposed to start his two-year term on Sunday, but withdrew his application for the position on Saturday after reports regarding his son resurfaced. The reports detailed how his son had been transferred to another school in 2018 for bullying a classmate and how Chung filed an unsuccessful lawsuit against the school, claiming that the transfer was unjust.
During this process, the victim suffered emotional distress and attempted suicide, according to a district court ruling. The court said the son's actions were “serious bullying” and “the level of violence was considerable.”
The son's case was first reported by broadcaster KBS in November 2018. At the time, the broadcaster did not reveal Chung's name, referring to him only as “a senior prosecutor.”
Although the government did not reveal details of the entire vetting process, it is assumed that the police, the Ministry of Justice's human resources information management team and the presidential office were involved in screening candidates for the position, given the general process of appointing a high-ranking government official.
The justice ministry's human resources team is a new organization created after Yoon took office and abolished the position of senior secretary for civil affairs, which was in charge of vetting senior government officials. The team was created to improve the transparency of the vetting process, but it is not fully responsible for vetting senior officials, and the presidential office conducts the final check, according to the ministry.
While the justice ministry did not confirm whether Chung was screened by the team, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) criticized the Yoon administration for its repeated failure to vet senior officials.
“It is impossible to count how many times the Yoon administration has failed in vetting its senior officials,” main opposition DPK deputy spokesperson Ahn Gwi-ryeong said. “President Yoon should apologize for the continued failure and reprimand those who are in charge of screening personnel.”
DPK floor leader Rep. Park Hong-keun said the party may set up a task force to find the truth related to Chung's case, fueling suspicions that prosecutors of the justice ministry team may have favored the disgraced nominee.
“We will investigate whether Chung's prosecution career, which overlaps with the president, was taken into account during his nomination,” Park said.
Amid growing public uproar over Chung's appointment, the presidential office acknowledged that there are limits to its personnel vetting system.
“There are limitations in our personnel vetting system,” a senior official at the office told The Korea Times. “While screening a senior official candidate, the office examines the candidate's public record, such as his work evaluations, media reports spanning several years, legal records and other official records which are publicly available.”
“Since we do not 'investigate or inspect' a candidate's private matters, the issue related to the nominee's son slipped through our hands,” the official added.
Reportedly, Chung was asked about any litigations or suits that involve himself, spouse or lineal ascendants during a preliminary written interview, but he did not give an answer.
Park Sang-byeong, a professor at Inha University's Graduate School of Policy Science said that the presidential office's quick decision to cancel Chung's appointment becomes a political dilemma before the ruling People Power Party's (PPP) chairman election next month.
“The office was likely to be criticized anyway whether it said it had vetted Chung or not,” Park said. “The administration appears to be making a prompt response to the controversy due to the upcoming PPP chairman election.”
While the mainstream of the PPP is taking a cautious stance on Chung's canceled appointment, Chun Ha-ram, an underdog candidate who has been critical of the party's Yoon loyalists, openly denounced Chung and the vetting system of the presidential office.
Surveys currently show that Chun is trailing behind Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon ― a candidate apparently favored by the presidential office ― and Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo. However, if no candidate secures more than half of the total votes during the national convention on March 8, the party will hold a run-off voting round between the top two candidates later, leaving the election up in the air.
“As Chun sided with the public sentiment, it appears that the presidential office has moved quickly to cancel Chung's appointment and acknowledge its limits in the vetting system,” Park said.