Prime Minister Han Duck-soo Warns Committee Chair Jeon Hyun-hee: "Civil Servants Must Maintain Strict Neutrality"

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is brushing back his hair during a meeting with the press corps held at the Government Complex Sejong in Sejong City on August 16, 2022. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Son Seon-hee] Prime Minister Han Duck-soo strongly opposed the ruling party's pressure for resignation against Jeon Hyun-hee, Chairperson of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, on the 16th, saying, "Civil servants must maintain political neutrality even if they are ministers, or at least while holding that position," and added, "I think it would be better to refrain a little from mentioning politics too much, as it is not appropriate for civil servants who must maintain strict neutrality."

On the same day, Prime Minister Han, speaking to reporters at the Government Complex Sejong, was asked about Chairperson Jeon, who is under pressure to resign and has claimed 'political oppression.' He responded, "I think it is beyond what we can understand for a civil servant to talk too much about politics," expressing his view.

Earlier, Chairperson Jeon appeared on a radio program in the morning and criticized the special audit targeting her as an "organizational audit," insisting that "a thorough investigation is necessary to uncover the truth." Since the regime change, Chairperson Jeon has been under continuous pressure to resign and has been excluded from the list of attendees at the Cabinet meetings since the launch of the Yoon Seok-yeol government, preventing her from attending. Furthermore, despite being a minister-level official, the Board of Audit and Inspection launched a special audit citing attendance issues, raising suspicions of a 'purge of officials from the previous administration.'

However, while Prime Minister Han expressed disagreement with Chairperson Jeon's claims, he was reserved about the issue of term guarantees for chairpersons appointed during the previous administration, including Jeon and Han Sang-hyuk, Chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission, stating, "Nothing has been decided yet."

The Yoon Seok-yeol government will mark its 100th day on the 17th. When asked to evaluate the past 100 days, Prime Minister Han said, "I cannot give a score," but added, "Sometimes, I fully understand the comments that more prior social consensus and preparation are needed when implementing policies." This is interpreted as being mindful of the recent controversy over former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Park Soon-ae's 'entrance at age 5' issue.

Regarding this, Prime Minister Han said, "In carrying out 120 national tasks, I gave special instructions to disclose necessary tasks in advance for public discussion and to keep the media involved so that the public does not feel these are too new ideas." To this end, starting this week, Prime Minister Han plans to hold weekly meetings with the media to explain national issues.

Regarding President Yoon Seok-yeol's proposal of the 'Bold Plan,' North Korea's denuclearization policy, in his speech commemorating the 77th Liberation Day the day before, Prime Minister Han said, "The government is ready to engage in dialogue with North Korea with a bold plan whenever conditions permit," adding, "An important part of the dialogue is appropriate measures on the nuclear issue, and such policies have been considerably coordinated with the United States and other related countries."