Director Bang Kiseon: "Undermining Trust in Government by Remaining Passive Ahead of Election Must Not Happen"

Presiding Over the Meeting of External Agency Heads
Urges Strict Political Neutrality

Bang Kiseon, Director of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, is presiding over the heads of external agencies meeting held at the Government Sejong Complex on the 23rd. Photo by Yonhap News

Bang Kiseon, Director of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, has called on all external agencies to maintain political neutrality and ensure normal government operations ahead of the June 3 presidential election.

On the morning of April 23 at the Government Sejong Complex, Director Bang presided over the fifth meeting of the heads of external agencies and stated, "With the election to choose a new president just over 40 days away, the public sector is now required to demonstrate an unprecedented level of responsibility and strict neutrality." A total of 17 external agencies participated in the meeting.

Director Bang emphasized, "There must never be any incidents where political neutrality is undermined by riding the wave of the election atmosphere, or where public officials neglect their duties and remain passive, thereby shaking public trust in the government."

Regarding the presidential election, he further instructed, "Please ensure that your staff are clearly educated about their obligation to maintain political neutrality so that they can act unwaveringly in accordance with laws and principles, and take strict action in the event of any violations."

He specifically requested that agencies closely involved in election-related tasks, such as the Overseas Koreans Agency and the National Police Agency, cooperate with the National Election Commission and fully carry out their responsibilities in on-site management and related duties.

Director Bang added, "Regardless of the political calendar, safeguarding the continuity and stability of state affairs is also a duty of the public sector."

He also called on the external agencies to: ▲ conduct advance checks on project-specific execution plans to ensure early implementation once the supplementary budget bill passes the National Assembly; ▲ take the lead in regulatory innovation as a measure to improve people's livelihoods; and ▲ inspect safety management conditions in their respective areas of responsibility.