Career Bureaucrats Shut Out of Public Institution Leadership Posts

Career government officials are being systematically excluded from top positions at major public institutions since the launch of the Constitution-Respecting Government Innovation Task Force, causing significant unrest within the civil service.

While the practice of appointing former bureaucrats to agency head positions without proper vetting should be avoided, critics argue that blanket exclusions also undermine the principle of placing the right person in the right position.

According to financial industry sources on Wednesday, no former government officials applied for the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC) presidency during the open recruitment period that ended on December 24.

Industry insiders say bureaucrats were effectively denied the opportunity to apply. KDIC has traditionally been led by CEOs from the Ministry of Economy and Finance or the Financial Services Commission. A senior financial industry official said, "For agency heads, the Presidential Office typically requests recommendations or consults with the relevant ministry. I understand this process did not happen this time." This has led to market speculation that a candidate has already been selected.

The same pattern is emerging at the Korea Inclusive Finance Agency. Interviews for the next director were held on January 4, but former government officials were reportedly not included among the candidates. Some sources suggest that Lim Su-gang, vice chairman of the Productive and Inclusive Finance Research Association and formerly of the Gyeonggi Research Institute, has already been tapped for the position. An industry official said, "The selection process has concluded, but no date has been set for announcing the results. It seems even bureaucrats are being excluded as people with political ties keep trying to secure these positions."

The trend extends further. For the IBK Industrial Bank of Korea presidency, with the term expiring in January next year, the prevailing view is that former bureaucrats will face difficulty. While a former senior FSC official was initially mentioned as a leading candidate, recent speculation suggests an internal candidate may now be ahead. Previously, the Korea Development Bank chairmanship and Export-Import Bank of Korea presidency also went to internal candidates.

A government official expressed concern, saying, "There is an atmosphere of excluding former bureaucrats from agency head appointments. While parachute appointments of bureaucrats are problematic, blanket exclusion from the candidate pool is also not right."

This trend is also evident in senior government appointments. There are reports of relative disadvantages for those who served in the Presidential Office under the Yoon Suk-yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations. Another government official emphasized, "Every administration has brought the most capable bureaucrats to the Presidential Office. If career civil servants are treated or classified like politicians in personnel decisions, a culture of political alignment and passive behavior will spread throughout the civil service." A government source said, "Having worked in the Moon Jae-in administration is also not helpful in the current climate."

Government circles expect significant unrest, particularly among younger civil servants, if this exclusion of bureaucrats spreads across all ministries. While the Yoon administration also showed reluctance to favor those who served in previous Presidential Offices, the trend has intensified from public institution leadership appointments to senior government positions. Even for Grade 1 personnel reshuffles aimed at organizational renewal, what was once a formality of collecting resignation letters and accepting only some has now become near-universal acceptance except in exceptional cases.

A senior government official said, "The exodus of young civil servants will inevitably accelerate. The civil service will undergo major changes under the Lee Jae-myung administration."