Time to set up transparent personnel management system
Nearly 50 percent of heads and auditors of 340 state-run institutions were appointed through "influence from above" since the May 2017 inauguration of the Moon Jae-in government, according to an investigation by the minor opposition Bareunmirae Party.
Of the 364 presidents and auditors of the public organizations, 161 or 44.2 percent were "parachute appointments" used to refer to people with political or business backgrounds brought in to fill high-level positions despite their lack of experience and expertise.
It is deplorable that the very people who had been all-out to blame the previous conservative regime for its parachute appointments have been even worse since coming to power to apparently reward those who campaigned for Moon in the run-up to the presidential election.
Regarding the presidents of state-run agencies, former lawmakers and their secretaries, including Oh Young-sik of the Korea Railroad Corp. or KORAIL, were chosen by the government. And members of progressive civic groups such as the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy were appointed mainly as auditors of public institutions.
The problem with such appointments is that most of them lack the leadership and expertise to oversee their organizations nor the will to prevent hiring irregularities such as giving favors to the children of existing managers and other employees. This bad practice of nepotism has invited the wrath of young jobseekers.
President Moon, who has set the eradication of deep-rooted evils, including parachute appointments, as a supreme policy goal, should be ashamed of such an ill practice. He should realize that his administration is no different from the previous conservative governments of Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye which were mired in corruption, power abuse and influence peddling.
It is urgent to put in place a transparent personnel management and appointment system before it is too late. It is surprising that the Moon government has made more parachute appointments than the Lee and Park administrations did.
Nearly 50 percent of heads and auditors of 340 state-run institutions were appointed through "influence from above" since the May 2017 inauguration of the Moon Jae-in government, according to an investigation by the minor opposition Bareunmirae Party.
Of the 364 presidents and auditors of the public organizations, 161 or 44.2 percent were "parachute appointments" used to refer to people with political or business backgrounds brought in to fill high-level positions despite their lack of experience and expertise.
It is deplorable that the very people who had been all-out to blame the previous conservative regime for its parachute appointments have been even worse since coming to power to apparently reward those who campaigned for Moon in the run-up to the presidential election.
Regarding the presidents of state-run agencies, former lawmakers and their secretaries, including Oh Young-sik of the Korea Railroad Corp. or KORAIL, were chosen by the government. And members of progressive civic groups such as the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy were appointed mainly as auditors of public institutions.
The problem with such appointments is that most of them lack the leadership and expertise to oversee their organizations nor the will to prevent hiring irregularities such as giving favors to the children of existing managers and other employees. This bad practice of nepotism has invited the wrath of young jobseekers.
President Moon, who has set the eradication of deep-rooted evils, including parachute appointments, as a supreme policy goal, should be ashamed of such an ill practice. He should realize that his administration is no different from the previous conservative governments of Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye which were mired in corruption, power abuse and influence peddling.
It is urgent to put in place a transparent personnel management and appointment system before it is too late. It is surprising that the Moon government has made more parachute appointments than the Lee and Park administrations did.
