Blue House Civil Affairs Secretary's family member and minister's acquaintance appointed as non-executive director of Saemangeum Development Corporation... Lowest rated record

(Gunsan = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Jin-bang = Additional circumstances are being captured in a situation where suspicions have been raised about 'parachute appointments' as family members of the Blue House Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs and acquaintances of the current Minister were appointed as non-executive directors of the Saemangeum Development Corporation.

According to Yonhap News coverage on the 16th, non-executive director A (73), the father of the civil affairs secretary, ranked last in the final evaluation of the Saemangeum Corporation executive recommendation committee held last month.

According to the non-executive director appointment procedure, the Corporation's Executive Recommendation Committee selects 5 times the quota (3 people) through document review, then conducts an interview review of them and narrows the recommendation down to 3 times the number. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport ultimately appoints 3 out of 9 people.

At that time, it was confirmed that Mr. A was ranked lowest in the overall evaluation among the 9 finalists selected.

Regarding this controversy, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport previously explained, "According to relevant laws and procedures, we appointed the right person among those recommended by the Executive Recommendation Committee, considering their experience in high-ranking positions related to the Saemangeum project in local governments and public institutions and their expertise in the field."

However, multiple members of the executive recommendation committee said in a phone call with Yonhap News, "We did not give a positive evaluation to Mr. A because he is in his mid-70s and is older than other applicants, and there were parts that did not match the government's stance on Saemangeum project issues such as renewable energy."

Mr. A, a former local government director, worked as the director in charge of the Saemangeum project in Jeollabuk-do from April 2006 to July 2007, but they said that his professionalism was low for only about a year and that he was lukewarm about the government's renewable energy projects such as RE100.

Another suspicion was raised regarding the composition of the Saemangeum Development Corporation's executive team.

Non-standing auditor B, who was appointed last July, was also confirmed to have served as a city councilor and provincial councilor during the time the incumbent minister was serving as the district chairman of his party.

Another new non-executive director, Mr. C, is also a high school classmate of the current minister.

The Saemangeum Development Corporation's executive team consists of eight people, including five non-executive directors, two executive directors, and one non-executive auditor, and three of them are suspected of 'parachute appointments'.

Yoo Jae-im, secretary general of Gunsan Participatory Autonomy Solidarity, said, "I feel devastated that suspicions are being raised about parachute appointments even though the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is a position that has the authority to appoint executives of affiliated organizations, and the Secretary for Civil Affairs is in a position to verify personnel," and criticized, "If those who monitor and appoint personnel are caught up in such suspicions, there are no measures to monitor and stop them."

He went on to point out, “The Saemangeum development project has not been completed for over 30 years and remains a painful wound and a torture to the region,” adding, “In relation to this, there is a need to supplement the system so that the executives of organizations that play an important role are appointed by people with expertise rather than regional or academic connections.”