Yoon on Ministry of Justice Personnel Screening: "It's Not Right for the Presidential Office to Dig Up People's Misconduct"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] President Yoon Seok-yeol stated on the 27th regarding the Ministry of Justice's establishment of the Personnel Information Management Unit, "It is not appropriate for the Presidential Secretariat to dig into misconduct or information about individuals." This was in response to strong opposition from the Democratic Party and others after the decision to entrust the verification of high-ranking public officials' personnel to the Ministry of Justice instead of the Presidential Office.

On the morning of the 27th, while heading to the Yongsan Government Complex, President Yoon responded to reporters' questions about concerns that the Ministry of Justice's personnel verification might be inappropriate by saying, "The United States does it that way."

In particular, President Yoon said, "The Presidential Secretariat should mainly focus on policy, and it is right not to dig into misconduct or information about individuals. That is why the Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs was abolished." He added, "In the past, there were special inspection teams, but now investigations are handled by investigative agencies, and the Presidential Secretariat does not act as an investigation control tower nor collect information on misconduct allegations of public office candidates."

He also emphasized, "The Presidential Secretariat should not be engaged in directly collecting information, so that data does not accumulate, and that is why we are following the American method." This means that the Presidential Office will operate with a policy focus, and the Ministry of Justice's Personnel Information Management Unit will be responsible for personnel verification without any issues.

Earlier, the Ministry of Justice proposed establishing the 'Personnel Information Management Unit' under its jurisdiction to verify high-ranking public officials. The system would have the Personnel Information Management Unit conduct verification after the Presidential Office recommends personnel. However, the Democratic Party has opposed the establishment of the Personnel Information Management Unit, arguing that it grants unchecked power to the prosecution led by Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon.