Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs Min Jeong-soo Vacates Position Again, Blue House Personnel Dilemma

In the Past Year, Three Chiefs of Civil Affairs Have Resigned... Interim Leadership Expected for Now, Considering New Appointments

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] With Kim Jin-guk, the Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs at the Blue House, resigning amid controversy over his son's job application, the Blue House is once again burdened with personnel issues. The Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs is responsible for managing public service discipline, but in the past year, three people have resigned due to controversies.

In the case of Senior Secretary Kim, sympathy arose due to his son's schizophrenia, but the Blue House has remained tight-lipped on the matter. Kim himself stated in his resignation letter on the afternoon of the 21st that "I was lacking as a father." He did not mention anything regarding his son's health.

With the sudden vacancy of the Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs position, various scenarios regarding the Blue House's solution are being discussed. When Kim Jong-ho, the then Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs, expressed his intention to resign on December 30 last year, the Blue House responded swiftly by announcing the appointment of Shin Hyun-soo as the new Senior Secretary the next day (December 31).

[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, this time the situation is different. The fact that President Moon Jae-in's term has less than five months remaining is also a variable. Considering the role of the Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs, the position cannot remain vacant for long, but rushing to appoint a successor is also difficult.

For now, it is expected that Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs Lee Ki-heon, the senior secretary in the office, will operate in an ‘acting capacity.’ Opinions differ on whether this acting system will be temporary. Lee is an internal Blue House official who previously served as a party official for the Democratic Party of Korea.

Lee may be promoted to take on the Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs role, or a new figure may be appointed. If a new Senior Secretary is appointed, attention will focus on whether the Blue House will again favor candidates from the Board of Audit and Inspection or continue the personnel policy of appointing ‘non-prosecutor’ figures. Among the five Senior Secretaries for Civil Affairs appointed during the Moon Jae-in administration, three had ties to the Board of Audit and Inspection.

The general consensus is that the Blue House’s deliberation over the solution to the vacancy of the Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs position will inevitably continue for some time. A senior Blue House official stated regarding the successor appointment, "There have been no discussions or plans yet."