Han Donghoon Criticizes Choi Dongseok's 'Unscientific and Bizarre Scoring Table,' Says 'Practically a Shaman'

Choi Dongseok Developed 'Index' to Rate Politicians in the Past
"Concern That Government Appointments May Be Unscientific"
Calls for Resignation

Former People Power Party leader Han Donghoon has called for the resignation of Choi Dongseok, head of the Ministry of Personnel Management, after Choi assigned scores to politicians based on an evaluation index he claimed to have developed in the past. Han criticized Choi, saying, "At this level, he's practically a shaman," and argued that the criteria for evaluating people are unscientific and arbitrary, which is problematic for someone overseeing government personnel affairs.

Han Donghoon, former leader of the People Power Party. Han Donghoon Facebook

On the 28th, Han shared on his social network service (SNS) the "Senior Public Official Suitability Assessment Results" that Choi had released on his YouTube channel last month. The accompanying photo shows the results of the "APM (Aptitude Profile Measure) Senior Public Official Suitability Assessment," which Choi claimed to have developed. According to the assessment, Lee Jaemyung (96 points), Choo Miae (78 points), Song Younggil (62 points), and Kim Yongmin (60 points) were listed as "People Who Advanced Korean Civilization," while Yoon Sukyeol (-113 points), Moon Jaein (-70 points), Han Donghoon (-60 points), and Cho Kuk (-47 points) were named as "People Who Regressed Korean Civilization."

Choi Dongsuk, head of the Personnel Authority, disclosed the results of the high-ranking public official suitability diagnosis based on the APM index through YouTube in the past. Facebook of Han Donghoon

Han commented, "He scored me as 10 points less bad than former President Moon Jaein. It's surprising, but I'm not grateful." He continued, "I've never seen anyone assign scores to people like this," and criticized, "At this level, isn't he practically a shaman?" He added, "If this person remains in charge of personnel affairs in the Lee Jaemyung administration, the public might worry that government appointments will become as bizarre and unscientific as this scoring table, based solely on his intuition. He should be dismissed before it is too late. That would be better for this administration as well."

Han Donghoon: "Democratic Party, Capital Gains Tax Deja Vu... Must Withdraw Plan to Expand Major Shareholder Transfer Tax"

Additionally, on the same day, Han voiced opposition to the government's and ruling party's plan to restore the criteria for major shareholders subject to stock transfer tax, calling for the withdrawal of the proposed tax reform. He pointed out, "Last year, as party leader, I had a nearly identical debate with Democratic Party politicians such as Jin Sungjoon over the 'expansion of stock transfer tax targets.' The issue then was the implementation of the financial investment income tax."

Jinseong Jun, Policy Committee Chair of the Democratic Party of Korea. Photo by Hyunmin Kim

He continued, "The Democratic Party insisted on pushing it through, but as the People Power Party leader, I persistently opposed it and worked with investors to have it withdrawn. At that time, the Democratic Party's logic was about taxing the wealthy, while my argument was that the financial investment income tax would cause stock prices to fall, ultimately harming small investors. In the end, due to opposition from small investors and public opinion, the Democratic Party gave up and withdrew the plan."

Han further argued, "Wasn't it because the Democratic Party was ultimately convinced by the logic of potential harm to small investors that they withdrew the financial investment income tax last year? As I mentioned a few days ago, the expansion of the stock transfer tax is structured in exactly the same way," adding, "The expansion of the stock transfer tax should also be withdrawn for the same reason?because it poses a risk of harm to small investors."

He also said, "Jin Sungjoon even remarked, 'If stock prices fall due to taxation, wouldn't that be the perfect time to invest?' I urge him to say that to young investors who would suffer losses from falling stock prices." Previously, on the 25th, Han also opposed the government's and ruling party's move to lower the major shareholder tax threshold, stating, "There is a risk of causing a chain of losses for small investors, so it should be reconsidered."