Chief of Staff Kang Hoonshik Delivers Opinion to President Lee
Office of the President: "Serious Concerns Over Undermining Public Trust... Political Views Posted on Social Media as Well"
The Office of the President has decided not to allow Lee Jinsook, Chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission, to attend Cabinet meetings starting next week, citing her repeated violations of civil servant neutrality, such as disclosing confidential Cabinet meeting content to the public and posting political views on her personal social media accounts. Traditionally, the Chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission has attended Cabinet meetings, but moving forward, attendance will only be permitted upon special request.
On July 9, Kang Yujeong, spokesperson for the Office of the President, announced during a briefing at the Yongsan presidential office, "Starting next week, the current Chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission will not attend Cabinet meetings." This decision follows Chief of Staff Kang Hoonshik directly conveying to President Lee Jaemyung the opinion that Chairperson Lee's attendance is inappropriate.
Spokesperson Kang further explained, "Recently, the Board of Audit and Inspection determined that the current Chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission violated the National Public Service Law by making politically biased statements. Violating the duty of political neutrality as a civil servant by the Chairperson poses a significant risk to public trust in the civil service, and thus a warning was issued. Nevertheless, the Chairperson continued to attend Cabinet meetings and express her personal political views."
The spokesperson also pointed out the issue of posting political opinions on social media. Kang stated, "Chairperson Lee repeatedly violated the duty of neutrality for civil servants by posting her political views on social media," and added, "Cabinet meetings are a venue for discussing state affairs with grave responsibility, so reporting or distorting confidential remarks or discussions for political purposes outside of official spokesperson briefings constitutes inappropriate conduct for public officials." Kang emphasized that this standard applies equally to other Cabinet members and attendees.
The Chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission may attend Cabinet meetings at the request of the President, who chairs the meetings, but cannot participate in voting on agenda items. According to Cabinet meeting regulations, only the Chief Presidential Secretary, Chief of the National Security Office, Chief Presidential Policy Secretary, Chief of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, Minister of Personnel Management, Minister of Government Legislation, Minister of Food and Drug Safety, Chairperson of the Fair Trade Commission, Chairperson of the Financial Services Commission, Chief of the Office for Science and Technology Innovation, Chief Negotiator for Trade, and the Mayor of Seoul are explicitly listed as attendees.
Spokesperson Kang stated, "If the chair of the meeting deems it necessary, important public officials may be allowed to attend. The Korea Communications Commission may attend and speak at Cabinet meetings only after submitting an agenda item to the Prime Minister and receiving approval. The authority to prohibit attendance rests with the chair of the meeting."
When asked whether another official from the Korea Communications Commission could attend in place of the Chairperson, Kang responded, "According to the regulations, after submitting an agenda item to the Prime Minister and recommending attendance, if the recommendation is accepted, attendance is permitted. For example, the Public Procurement Service attended the Cabinet meeting yesterday to give a report. If a recommendation for attendance from the Korea Communications Commission is accepted, attendance at the Cabinet meeting will be possible at the discretion of the chair."
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