Yoon administration's personnel vetting process draws more flak

• Published date: 26 February 2023
• Publication title: The Korea Times

The presidential office and police are facing heavy criticism for their failure to properly screen Chung Sun-sin who was named head of the National Office of Investigation, as his son was involved in a school violence case. The case was first reported by the media five years ago.

The presidential office on Saturday advised that it canceled Chung's appointment just a day after President Yoon Suk Yeol named him for the position that would have seen Chung responsible for overseeing police investigation forces nationwide.

Chung, a prosecutor-turned-lawyer, was supposed to start his two-year term on Sunday, but withdrew his application for the position on Saturday after reports regarding his son resurfaced. The reports detailed how his son had been transferred to another school in 2018 for bullying a classmate and how Chung filed an unsuccessful lawsuit against the school, claiming that the transfer was unjust.

During this process, the victim suffered emotional distress and attempted suicide, according to a district court ruling. The court said the son's actions were "serious bullying" and "the level of violence was considerable."

The son's case was first reported by broadcaster KBS in November 2018. At the time, the broadcaster did not reveal Chung's name, referring to him only as "a senior prosecutor."

Although the government did not reveal details of the entire vetting process, it is assumed that the police, the Ministry of Justice's human resources information management team and the presidential office were involved in screening candidates for the position, given the general process of appointing a high-ranking government official.

The justice ministry's human resources team is a new organization created after Yoon took office and abolished the position of senior secretary for civil affairs, which was in charge of vetting senior government officials. The team was created to improve the transparency of the vetting process, but it is not fully responsible for vetting senior officials, and the presidential office conducts the final check, according to the ministry.

While the justice ministry did not confirm whether Chung was screened by the team, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) criticized the Yoon administration for its repeated failure to vet senior officials.

"It is impossible to count how many times the Yoon administration has failed in vetting its senior officials," main opposition DPK deputy spokesperson Ahn Gwi-ryeong said. "President Yoon...