Since the launch of the Lee Jae-myung administration, the National Data Agency (formerly Statistics Korea) has emerged as a breeding ground for key Ministry of Economy and Finance personnel. The statistics line, once considered a backwater where passed-over officials briefly languished or a final posting before retirement, is now viewed as an "express train to promotion" that everyone wants to board.
According to government sources on the 26th, officials who served at the Data Agency have been successively promoted or appointed to key positions in senior MOEF personnel reshuffles since the new government took office, ushering in what insiders call "the golden age of the Data Agency." This marks a stark contrast to the Moon Jae-in administration era, when the organization's standing was severely shaken by intensive Board of Audit and Inspection audits and prosecution investigations over allegations of statistics manipulation.
The official who fired the starting gun for the Data Agency's revival is Lee Hyung-il, First Vice Minister of Economy and Finance. Lee, who served as Statistics Korea Commissioner from 2023 until June this year, returned to MOEF as vice minister, where he now leads macroeconomic policy while assisting Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Koo Yoon-chul.
Kang Ki-ryong, who was named in the first senior personnel reshuffle under the new government last month, previously served as Planning and Coordination Director, the position overseeing Statistics Korea's operations. Earlier in May, former Planning and Coordination Director Heo Seung-chul moved to become Chief of Staff to the Deputy Prime Minister. Yang Soon-pil, a director who served as MOEF's Tax Policy Division head, also transferred to the Planning and Coordination Director position, cementing the Data Agency's reputation as an "essential stepping stone for promotion."
"In the past, people would often sigh when they received a Statistics Korea assignment, but now it feels like a powerful agency that everyone wants to join," one MOEF official said.
The organization's escape from the "statistics manipulation allegations" that weighed on it for the past three years has also contributed to its enhanced status. The Data Agency was shaken by intensive Board of Audit and Inspection audits, prosecution referrals, and trials that began immediately after the Yoon Suk-yeol administration took office, but has recently restored its credibility after most employees received no-charges decisions or not-guilty verdicts. Currently, only former Commissioner Kang Shin-wook's first-instance trial continues.
Some analysts note that the Data Agency's importance has grown in tandem with President Lee's governance style, which emphasizes numbers. President Lee is known to frequently ask ministers for specific data and figures during cabinet meetings and work briefings. This creates a structure where officials with the ability to read and analyze data are bound to be promoted.
Recently, speculation has emerged in government circles that Han Hoon, the 19th Statistics Korea Commissioner and former Vice Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, is competing with MOEF Second Vice Minister Lim Ki-geun for the position of inaugural Minister of Planning and Budget under the new government.