SEOUL– Statistician-turned-lawmaker Yoo Gyeong-joon of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) proposed a set of bills on Tuesday aimed at preventing the distortion of government data and assuring the independence of the state statistics agency.
The proposal follows data rigging allegations that the preceding Moon Jae-in administration manipulated key economic data on income, employment and property prices to support its policies.
The revision bills, tabled by the former Statistics Korea chief and nine other PPP lawmakers, center on elevating the status of the state statistics agency and mandating a five-year term for its chief.
“If the Moon Jae-in government’s data rigging allegations are true, one reason is an organization structure in which Statistics Korea is affected by external pressure,” Yoo said. “We need to guarantee its independence and neutrality and prevent data from being distorted to suit the administration.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency