[Exclusive] "Sell Your House"... Real Estate Reflected in Senior Public Official Promotion Evaluations

A 'Real Estate' Category Likely to Be Added in Promotion Reviews for Grade 1 and 2 Senior Public Officials

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] Regarding Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun's recommendation the previous day for high-ranking officials with multiple homes to dispose of their properties, the Prime Minister's Office has been confirmed to be preparing personnel disadvantage measures against these multi-home high-ranking officials. It is expected that dissatisfaction among senior officials will intensify.

According to a government official on the 9th, the government is reportedly considering adding "real estate" as an item in the personnel verification process for high-ranking official candidates (levels 1 and 2). A senior government official said in a phone interview with Asia Economy, "During the evaluation for entry (promotion) into the senior civil service, competency assessment and personnel verification are conducted separately, and adding real estate details to the verification items is a likely option." The Prime Minister's Office plans to report this measure to Prime Minister Chung and announce specific plans as early as this week.

This is a follow-up measure to Prime Minister Chung's recommendation on the 8th for a survey of multi-home high-ranking officials and the prompt disposal of their properties. In this regard, it is known that Prime Minister Chung instructed the staff to devise concrete means related to the sale of multiple homes by senior officials.

The most recent data available to grasp the housing status of senior officials is the "2020 Regular Asset Change Report" published in the government gazette by the Public Service Ethics Committee in March. According to this, among 750 senior officials in central government ministries whose assets were disclosed, about one-third, 248, were multi-home owners. For multi-home owners, the background of acquisition will be reviewed and reflected in the evaluation. However, exceptions are expected for unavoidable cases such as inheritance.

Currently, the entry and promotion evaluation for senior civil servants is conducted by the Ministry of Personnel Management and the Blue House. The Ministry of Personnel Management conducts competency assessments (such as presentation skills and meeting abilities), while the Blue House conducts personnel verification (morality and integrity). This measure will add "real estate" to the personnel verification items. This will affect about 150 level 1 and 2,000 level 2 officials.

Among senior officials in government ministries, constitutional controversy is expected to arise. In fact, when Prime Minister Chung ordered "sell all but one house," there was dissatisfaction in the Sejong government offices about infringement on private property. A director of a government ministry who requested anonymity expressed dissatisfaction, saying, "When government ministries moved to Sejong, there were special supplies, but now, because real estate policy public opinion is unfavorable, they are telling innocent officials to sell their homes." Another ministry director said, "No matter how good the competency assessment is, if you own two houses due to circumstances, you cannot get promoted," adding, "There is a sufficient possibility of unconstitutionality."

Meanwhile, the government believes there is no risk of "unconstitutionality" as level 1 and above already disclose assets transparently, and level 2 and above undergo annual evaluations for competency and verification.