Closed-door talks at the National Assembly, urging reform of the confirmation hearing system... "Do not consider whether the spouse is husband or wife during appointments"
[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] "When making appointments, I do not consider who the husband or wife is." On the 28th, President Moon Jae-in said this during a private meeting before his National Assembly policy speech when Yoo Myung-hee, the Chief Negotiator for Trade who advanced to the final round for the World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General position, became a topic of discussion.
Kim Young-chun, Secretary General of the National Assembly, said, "(Chief Negotiator Yoo) regardless of winning or losing, the President broke the candidate association system this time." Chief Negotiator Yoo's husband is Jeong Tae-ok, a former member of the United Future Party. Secretary General Kim's remark explained President Moon's favoring of Chief Negotiator Yoo despite her husband being a conservative opposition party lawmaker.
President Moon said, "A couple are each independent individuals, aren't they? Each conducts their activities independently and freely," conveying that he does not consider who the husband or wife is when making appointments.
In particular, President Moon expressed the view that personnel hearings should, as much as possible, be a process to verify the individual themselves. He raised concerns about personnel hearings deteriorating into investigations of not only the individual but also their family's private lives. Speaker Park Byeong-seug of the National Assembly said, "The National Assembly is trying to reform the hearing system so that the candidate's morality verification is conducted privately, while policy and qualifications are handled publicly."
President Moon said, "I hope that part is definitely improved," adding, "Even if our government continues as before, the next government must break away from it."
President Moon emphasized, "It is really not easy to recruit good talent. There is an actual phenomenon of avoiding hearings. Even if the individual has the intention, sometimes good candidates cannot be recruited because their families oppose it."
Kang Min-seok, Blue House spokesperson, said, "The next government should break away from the current personnel hearing culture," adding, "I hope a path is definitely opened in the next government."
Meanwhile, a senior Blue House official said, "It is true that personnel hearings have a positive function of raising the morality level of the public service one notch higher. If the current avoidance phenomenon is at a serious level, it would not be good for the country either," adding, "This applies to both our government and the next government. Many people sympathize with the current avoidance phenomenon."
When asked whether the senior Blue House official's remarks were made with a cabinet reshuffle in mind, they replied, "This is about the personnel hearing system," and said, "Regarding personnel matters, I will not mention in advance whether there will be a cabinet reshuffle or not."
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