This article was originally posted on Jayu Press and translated by OKN Correspondent.
It seems that President Moon Jae-in may not be outstanding enough to win the Grand Order of Mugunghwa (the highest order awarded by the South Korean government to the President of South Korea, and it may be awarded to their spouse, and heads or former heads of state of South Korean allies and their spouses). He seems to be busy taking care of his people now that his term is coming to an end. It’s more than greed and should be called avarice. He’s been busy appointing heads of foreign diplomatic missions, prosecution, and public corporations, he’s ignoring to meet the next president. It’s despicable that he’s depriving the next president of the right to appoint personnel.
It’s not as if President Moon doesn’t know what he’s doing. If it is not decreed by law, the new president can dismiss those appointed by the former, if needed. But if this should happen, there will be loads of problems. It would be a waste of time during the transitional period. There will be an administrative vacuum. It would be a loss to the country. And what would happen to the person who was appointed to the position? They would have to leave before they got their footing. Public officials who have moved abroad must pack their bags again. He will lose his reputation. It would blemish his life. Considering all these things, it is incompetent to hastily leave your people behind like this.
The new president may say, “Why don’t we just leave them alone?” Why must they emphasize that appointments are everything to a president? This is because they should select a person who works hard to achieve the president’s governing philosophy and ideology. It is questionable whether the people appointed by President Moon will follow the will of the new president. If they should become hands-off or always be trying to read the room, so to say, the incoming government could begin with a shaky start.
The bigger problem would be these public officials’ resistance to the new president and his government since they have benefitted from their loyalty to President Moon. For the past five years, this administration has been dominated by ideological bias. They can resist the new government’s various plans for reform if these are the final acts by the Moon Administration to fill in these key posts. The nature of public officials trying to protect their vested interests can be found in any country. Moreover, people who want to preserve President Moon’s ideology can interfere in many ways. President Moon may believe that the people he took care of will protect him and his family. This is what he might be expecting from the prosecutors he chose.
For these reasons, the new president cannot just stand by and do nothing with President Moon’s final appointment of personnel. It would be wise for President Moon to stop appointing his people to positions of power.
To read the original article in Korean, please click here.
