[The Editors' Verdict] Appointing the Korea Airports Corporation President Is the First Step Toward a "Safe South Korea"

Hwang Junho, Head of Construction and Real Estate Department

"We will make South Korea safe."

This is the first task in the major work plan reported last week by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to Choi Sang-mok, Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance. The ministry identified the recovery from the Jeju Air passenger plane accident that occurred at Muan International Airport on December 29 last year and measures to prevent recurrence as the most important task this year. Immediate emergency safety inspections will begin across sectors including airlines, airports, air traffic control, and regulations. Controversial airport facilities will also be improved. Construction and operation guidelines for airports will be revised within the first half of this year. Minister Park Sang-woo of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport emphasized, "We will strengthen safety management across the entire aviation sector."

Reading this plan, one might wonder, "Is it safe to fly again?" However, the catch is that the president of Korea Airports Corporation, who should play a central role in executing this plan, is currently vacant. The control tower responsible for operating and managing 14 airports, including Muan Airport, is empty. On that day, the government did not utter a single word about how to fill this position.

Former President Yoon Hyung-jung resigned in April last year with 10 months left in his term, and the position has been vacant since. After Yoon's departure, the Corporation's Executive Recommendation Committee conducted document and interview screenings in June last year and recommended five candidates to the Public Institution Management Committee of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Subsequently, former Presidential Office Management Secretary Kim Oh-jin emerged as a leading candidate. Despite overseeing the relocation of the Presidential Office and residence, he sparked controversy by stating, "I don't remember who recommended it," regarding the interior design company '21gram,' which participated in the residence construction through a private contract. 21gram is a company that sponsored Kobana Contents, operated by First Lady Kim Keon-hee. Later, the Board of Audit and Inspection pointed out multiple legal violations during the construction process and instructed the Ministry of Personnel Management to be notified. The Public Institution Management Committee has yet to make a decision.

With no president, the board of directors is operating in a distorted structure. Typically, each business division head of the corporation attends the board to make important decisions. However, with the delay in appointing both the president and the standing director, two standing directors without specific roles who have completed their terms attend the board, while their successors as division heads only handle major approvals within their divisions, creating a bifurcated structure for key decisions. This decision-making structure is unprecedented in the corporation's history. Notably, the head of the Safety and Security Headquarters, who should focus all efforts on airport safety, is also concurrently serving as the head of the Construction Technology Headquarters.

The corporation’s management performance, having lost its control tower, is literally a "mess." It received a failing grade of D (inadequate) in the "2023 Public Institution Management Performance Evaluation" announced last June. This is the lowest score since the corporation's establishment. It had received a C (average) grade in the 2021?2022 evaluations but is gradually deteriorating to the worst. In particular, since the vice president, a former Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport official, is acting as president, there are criticisms that only the ministry's demands are being accepted. In carrying out these tasks, employees’ work fatigue has reached its peak.

For the corporation to fulfill its role, a president must be appointed as soon as possible. The appointment can proceed faster than expected. There is no need to start the appointment process from scratch. It is sufficient to select one from among the multiple candidates who participated in the presidential competition. One of the two candidates who competed closely with former Secretary Kim is a former senior official of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and is known as a transportation expert. The other is an internal resource well acquainted with the Airports Corporation. Choosing either would be more reasonable than leaving the president’s position vacant.

If the most important task this year is to make South Korea safe, appointing the corporation’s president should be a top priority. It is not too late yet. The government must show its determination now to prevent a second Jeju Air disaster.