Fuss about senior presidential secretary shows cracks in state management system

Shin Hyun-soo, senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, listens as President Moon Jae-in, shown on the video screen, speaks during a meeting with senior aides at Cheong Wa Dae, Monday. Yonhap

By Do Je-hae

Shin Hyun-soo, senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, has decided to remain at Cheong Wa Dae despite offering his resignation earlier after a feud with the new justice minister over the reshuffle of senior prosecutors, according to the presidential office, Monday.

Although the brouhaha about his resignation has been wrapped up for the time being, it showed Cheong Wa Dae has lost its grip on state management and that internal disputes in the ruling bloc are not being controlled properly in the latter part of President Moon Jae-in's term.

“Shin has decided to ask the President to decide what to do with his offer of resignation,” Chung Man-ho, senior presidential secretary for public communication, told reporters, Monday. Shin carried out his duties as usual on the day, taking part in the weekly meeting with President Moon in the afternoon.

The announcement by the presidential office comes on the heels of a four-day leave Shin took after offering to resign over differences with Justice Minister Park Beom-kye on a recent reshuffle of several senior prosecutors. The senior presidential secretary for civil affairs deals with issues related to the prosecution.

The presidential office was unclear about the likelihood of Moon replacing Shin, but it is widely believed Moon will keep Shin in his position. “Shin resigned, the President did not accept the resignation, and now Shin has entrusted the President to make a decision. Now it's time for the President to decide, but we cannot say when and what kind of decision he will make,” a senior presidential source said.

Shin is the fourth senior presidential aide for civil service under the Moon administration to have been engulfed in political controversy.

The opposition claims that the incident over Shin shows cracks in the management of state affairs and Cheong Wa Dae's weakened control. Over the weekend, some media reports have raised the possibility that the justice ministry announced the new appointments even before President Moon had approved them.

“The Moon administration is increasingly turning into a mess,” Rep. Chang Je-won of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), who is a member of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, wrote on a recent Facebook post. “The former justice minister fought with the prosecutor general and the new justice minister is fighting with a presidential aide. Now there are controversies about the President being ignored. Moon should tell the people what exactly went on behind the prosecution's personnel scandal and establish discipline within his administration by finding out who is manipulating state affairs.”

The presidential office emphatically denied reports that the appointments were announced before Moon approved them.