SEOUL– Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon said Monday a new personnel vetting unit to be instituted under his ministry will help make the once-secretive job of examining candidates for public office more transparent and accountable to the people.
The government plans to launch the “personnel information management team” as early as June 7 following Cabinet approval Tuesday, according to sources.
Han dismissed opposition politicians’ criticism that the new system will give excessive power to the justice ministry and the prosecution.
“It is a meaningful step forward that what in the past was secretive work by those holding political power transitions into ordinary work by public servants which is under public scrutiny,” Han told reporters before meeting with Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su at the Supreme Court in Seoul.
In the past, vetting of senior position candidates was carried out by the now-defunct office of the senior presidential secretary for civil affairs.
President Yoon Suk-yeol abolished the office, often accused of secret investigations into politicians, officials and civilians, and is in the process of transferring the role to the justice ministry.
“I wonder if journalists have ever asked questions about personnel verification to a senior presidential secretary for civil affairs or a secretary for public office discipline who are in charge of the work. Now it has become possible,” said Han, a former prosecutor and one of the president’s closest confidants.
“The senior presidential secretary for civil affairs has not attended the National Assembly so far, but in the future, (those responsible for personnel vetting) will be questioned by the National Assembly, audited by the Board of Audit and Inspection and will receive questions from the news media,” he added.
The government plans to approve a proposal to establish the new organization during a Cabinet meeting set for Tuesday, according to officials.
After promulgation by Yoon, it will take effect as soon as it is published in the government gazette, which usually takes about seven days. That means the team will be able to go into operation on June 7.
The team is expected to be composed of 20 members, including three prosecutors.
The unit will also examine candidates for Supreme Court and Constitutional Court justices, drawing criticism that it would undermine the judiciary’s independence.
Han dismissed such concerns, saying the team will work strictly in accordance with the Constitution and the related laws.
He added that a veteran bureaucrat who has been dedicated to personnel verification will be appointed to head the team.
Source: Yonhap News Agency