To play or not to play?

Civil servants still reserved about golfing

By Lee Hyo-sik, Yoon Ja-young

President Park Geun-hye recently said that she is not against civil servants playing golf and even emphasized the need for government officials to play the game to help boost stagnant domestic consumption.

At a rare meeting with chief editors of the country’s broadcast outlets and newspapers, April 25, she was asked whether it was really okay for civil servants to play golf.

Park said they should “feel free” to play.

“Many people, including government officials, head abroad to play golf even though they can do so at home, which adversely affects the domestic economy. This is because they feel uncomfortable here,” she said. “I think we should create a welcoming atmosphere for golfers. If they play golf here rather than in other countries, this will help our economy.”

Strategy and Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho even played a round of golf withPark Yong-maan, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industries; Huh Chang-soo, chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries; and other heads of business organizations, April 30.

Yoo said people should play golf here at home rather than head overseas to help prop up sluggish domestic demand.

However, most civil servants do not buy into Park’s encouragement per se.

Most government agencies, however, have set rules banning their officials from accepting a free round of golf from lobbyists or business people. In principle, they are allowed to play at their own expense with their family and friends.

However, most have refrained from playing golf outright over the years to prevent any unnecessary misunderstandings with auditors because doing so might subject them to an audit for “inappropriate behavior.”

A senior official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said, “Ranking officials higher than the director general level don’t play golf at all as they fear they might get into trouble.”

He said they will continue to stay away from golf courses although President Park said they are not banned from them.

“That President Park is saying it’s okay to play golf is like a mother telling her children it’s okay to take a break from their studies and rest awhile. But if they don’t study, they will be scolded later,” the official said, declining to be named.

Other ministry officials echoed his sentiment.

“I don’t think President Park’s remarks will increase the number of civil servants heading to the golf course any time soon,” said an official at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, who declined to be named. “Most officials who play golf at their own expense disguise their identities because they don’t want to get into trouble with the Board of Audit and Inspection or inspectors dispatched from the Prime Minister’s Office.”

It has become unthinkable for civil servants to accept a sponsored round of golf, according to an official at another ministry, who said many government officials have long stopped playing golf.

“Simply put, golf is taboo in officialdom. Unless Cheong Wa Dae introduces drastic changes to the status quo, I don’t think civil servants will openly play golf,” he said. “Park’s remarks are seen as an attempt to help boost sluggish consumer spending. But she will not achieve her intended goal.”

Hundreds of thousands of Koreans, including many civil servants, travel to Southeast Asia or elsewhere each year to play golf. The government estimates that Koreans spend about $2 billion every year on these trips.