[The Editors' Verdict] 'Too Much Is as Bad as Too Little': Minister Won Heeryong's SNS

The dictionary definition of the word communication is ‘mutual understanding without misunderstanding.’ No administration has failed to emphasize communication with the public, but especially President Yoon Suk-yeol reportedly urged the heads of administrative departments, the ministers, to actively communicate via SNS right after his inauguration in May last year. Furthermore, he is said to have given a special order to create ‘star ministers’ in each ministry, stating that ministers should become ‘celebs (Celeb·celebrities).’ This was likely to emphasize the responsibility that ministers should not only work behind their desks but also promote policies to the public and maintain constant communication.

Among the ministers who have shown the most fitting response to the president’s order is Won Hee-ryong, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. His YouTube video explaining the five suspicions surrounding the Daejang-dong scandal last year attracted great attention, garnering 240,000 views in just four days. As a result, Minister Won earned the nickname ‘Daejang-dong One-shot Lecturer’ and, even now as the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, he actively promotes himself as a ‘Real Estate One-shot Lecturer’ and continues his vigorous YouTuber activities. This year, despite his busy travels to the Middle East?Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Qatar?he has been sharing local conditions through Facebook in his spare time, actively supporting Korean companies and showing determination to open a ‘second Middle East boom,’ which has been well received.

In particular, he sharply criticized the residents of Eunma Apartment, who opposed the GTX-C line passing through, labeling them as ‘collective selfishness’ on SNS, and referred to the construction labor union as a “lawless gangster group disguised as a union.” Minister Won’s bold remarks like these have garnered thousands of ‘likes’ per post and a continuous stream of supportive messages.

However, as the saying goes, ‘too much is as bad as too little.’ Recently, regarding the controversy over Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH)’s purchase of unsold apartments at high prices, a post by Minister Won sparked further controversy. On the 30th of last month, he harshly criticized, saying, “If it were my money, I wouldn’t buy the rental housing purchased by LH at this price,” and added, “It’s a case of guaranteeing profits for construction companies with taxpayers’ money and encouraging moral hazard.”

This is not to defend LH’s position, which is criticized for high-priced purchases, nor to debate the factual accuracy of whether the prices LH paid were high or not. However, what must be pointed out is that LH is a public institution under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, headed by Minister Won. Since public institutions are established through government investment, capital contribution, or financial support, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, as the supervising ministry, holds management, supervision, and evaluation authority over LH. In other words, the minister, as the head of the ministry, is the direct superior who holds the power of life and death over the LH president and all employees. In an organization, the responsibility for managing and supervising the faults of subordinates inevitably lies with the superior.

Then, what Minister Won should have done first was not to criticize the faults of his subordinates but to apologize as a superior. Just over two years ago, during his time as Governor of Jeju, he said regarding the LH speculation allegations, “The president’s anger to root out the problem feels shameless,” and “Shouldn’t the president and government sincerely apologize first to the people who suffered?” It is necessary to reconsider whether his active SNS activities are truly for communication with the public or for political fandom.