Park Haeng-yeol, the inaugural Director of the Personnel Information Management Division at the Ministry of Justice. / Photo by Ministry of Justice
[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] The Ministry of Justice's Public Official Personnel Information Management Division, which has taken over the personnel verification function for public officials previously handled by the Blue House's Civil Affairs Office, officially launched on the 7th.
Park Haeng-yeol, a personnel administration expert and head of the Leadership Development Department at the National Human Resources Development Institute, who passed the 43rd Administrative Examination, was appointed as the inaugural head of the Personnel Information Management Division.
On this day, the Ministry of Justice announced, "With the promulgation and enforcement of two partial amendments to presidential decrees, namely the 'Regulations on the Collection and Management of Information on Public Office Candidates, etc.' and the 'Organization of the Ministry of Justice and Its Affiliated Agencies,' as well as the partial amendment to the 'Enforcement Rules of the Organization of the Ministry of Justice and Its Affiliated Agencies,' the Ministry of Justice's Personnel Information Management Division has commenced operations. The division will ensure thorough work to prevent any gaps in government personnel verification through collaboration with related ministries and agencies."
The partial amendment to the 'Regulations on the Collection and Management of Information on Public Office Candidates, etc.' added the Minister of Justice, alongside the existing Presidential Secretary, as an institution entrusted with some of the authority for collecting and managing information on public office candidates, delegated from the head of the Ministry of Personnel Innovation.
The partial amendment to the 'Organization of the Ministry of Justice and Its Affiliated Agencies' established the Personnel Information Management Division head under the Minister of Justice, in addition to the existing spokesperson, inspector general, and two ministerial policy advisors, to assist the Minister in exercising the delegated authority for personnel verification of public officials.
The amendment to the enforcement rules stipulates that under the head of the Personnel Information Management Division, there will be a Personnel Information Officer 1, a prosecutor who assists the head in collecting and managing social sector information such as criminal records and academic background of public office candidates, and a Personnel Information Officer 2, who assists in collecting and managing economic sector information such as finance and taxation.
The Personnel Information Management Division under the Minister of Justice consists of 20 members, including Head Park, three prosecutors, and 13 dispatched personnel from the Office for Government Policy Coordination, Ministry of Personnel Innovation, Ministry of Education, Ministry of National Defense, National Tax Service, National Police Agency, National Intelligence Service, and Financial Supervisory Service.
Head Park, originally from Sinan, Jeollanam-do, passed the 43rd Administrative Examination in 1999 and has held various positions including ▲Secretary at the Human Resources Development Policy Division of the Central Personnel Committee (2007) ▲Seconded to the Presidential Future Planning Committee ▲Administrative Officer at the Presidential Protocol Secretary's Office ▲Director of Education at the Central Officials Training Institute (2014) ▲Planning and Finance Officer at the Planning and Coordination Office of the Ministry of Personnel Innovation (2015, 2017) ▲Director of Personnel Innovation Planning at the Ministry of Personnel Innovation (2018), and since 2021, has served as the head of the Leadership Development Department at the National Human Resources Development Institute.
The Ministry of Justice stated, "As a personnel administration expert with extensive practical experience and deep understanding of personnel-related laws and systems, Head Park is expected to contribute to establishing fair and objective personnel verification operations as the inaugural head of the Personnel Information Management Division."
Lee Dong-gyun, former head of the Criminal Division 3 at Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office (age 45, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 33), was appointed as Personnel Information Officer 1, responsible for collecting and managing social sector information. Lee Seong-do, former head of the Evaluation General Division at the Office for Government Policy Coordination (age 48, 44th Administrative Examination), was appointed as Personnel Information Officer 2, responsible for economic sector information.
To guarantee the division's independence, its office was established not at the Gwacheon Government Complex but at the Audit Office annex in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.
Meanwhile, the Personnel Information Management Division will conduct the first round of verification after the Presidential Secretary's Personnel Recommendation Committee, chaired by the Presidential Chief of Staff, narrows down the candidate pool, and then deliver the verification results to the Public Official Discipline Secretary.
The division's first verification target is likely to be the successor to Kim Chang-ryong, the National Police Agency Commissioner, whose term expires on the 23rd of next month. Additionally, the Ministry of Justice will be responsible for verification of candidates for the next Prosecutor General, Supreme Court Justices, and Constitutional Court Justices, raising concerns about concentration of power.
In response to such concerns, the Ministry of Justice previously stated, "The Ministry only handles the first round of practical verification, not personnel recommendation or final verification," and added, "The Minister of Justice will not receive any intermediate reports to fully guarantee the independence of the verification process."
At that time, the Ministry also addressed concerns that information collected during the verification process might be passed to investigative agencies and used for disciplinary purposes, stating, "A clear Chinese Wall will be established within the Ministry of Justice to prevent any leakage of personnel verification information externally, and no one in the Ministry, including the Minister, will have access to the information from the verification process."
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