The shortcomings of Cheong Wa Dae’s personnel vetting process were highlighted once again after a presidential nominee for a Constitutional Court justice pulled out from consideration.
The presidential office has focused too much on the political inclination of nominees while overlooking crucial qualifications, particularly ethical standards. Lee You-jung, a prosecutor-turned-lawyer, withdrew her nomination last week amid controversy over her dubious stock investments.
She was the fifth nominee for a vice ministerial-level or higher post to pull out due to various reasons since President Moon Jae-in took office in May.
The post of the justice of the Constitutional Court requires the highest ethics and morality.
Since Moon nominated Lee as a candidate for such an important job, her lucrative stock investments, political inclination and suspected plagiarism astonished many people.
Many were surprised by her incredible earning of 1.2 billion won ($1.1 million) in profits in stocks over the past 18 months. She is suspected of using insider information in her investments.
The 49-year-old denied the allegation but apologized for failing to meet the public’s expectation of high ethical standards for public officials. Although she withdrew from the nomination, financial authorities should investigate the allegation that she may have used insider information.
Lee’s withdrawal shows Cheong Wa Dae’s faulty vetting process. Whenever nominees withdraw over controversies, the presidential office routinely says, “We respect the will (of the nominee) and it’s regrettable.”
It is irresponsible for the presidential office only to say that Lee did not talk to them in advance about the huge earnings and they did not find any illegality in her stock investment during the vetting process.
No one in charge of personnel management at the presidential office has been held accountable for these failures. The people deserve a clear explanation about who recommended the failed nominees and why the vetting process did not function properly.