Kim Dong-yeon: "President Yoon and Ruling Party Should Hands Off National Company KT"

Text and photo posted by Kim Dong-yeon, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, on his SNS on the 31st

Kim Dong-yeon, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, urged the Yoon Seok-yeol administration and the ruling party to stop interfering in the personnel and management of the national company KT. He criticized that government and ruling party involvement in the personnel affairs of a privatized company is not a 'private-led economy' but a 'private-pressure economy.'

On the 31st, Kim posted on his social media under the title "The National Company KT Is Not a Spoil of Power," stating, "Today, the KT shareholders' meeting was held," and expressed concern that "with only one outside director remaining, the board of directors has effectively been dismantled, making a prolonged management vacuum inevitable."

He continued, "The cause of this entire situation is the intervention of the government and ruling party," and argued, "Based on my experience overseeing public institutions at the central government level in the past, this is truly deplorable. Government and ruling party interference in the personnel affairs of a company that has already been privatized, not a public institution, is not a 'private-led economy' but a 'private-pressure economy.'

Furthermore, he questioned, "What is the reality of the freedom and fairness that the Yoon Seok-yeol administration talks about?" and lamented, "The personnel interference in KT reveals the true face of a 'power-controlled economy' beyond a state-controlled economy."

In particular, he emphasized, "KT's management positions are not for accommodating cronies or loyalists," and warned, "KT is a key company in South Korea leading the ICT industry in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. If it is hampered by 'government risk,' the damage will directly affect the people and have a negative impact on our economy."

He also added, "What is more worrisome is the signal the government is sending to the market," and urged, "Incorrect policy signals and unpredictable, inconsistent messages cause great confusion in the market, so the government and ruling party should now stop interfering in KT's personnel and management."