Top aide's resignation offer provides opening for reform

Top aide's resignation offer provides opening for reform

President Lee Jae Myung must overhaul personnel system, governance

Controversies over some of President Lee Jae Myung's Cabinet nominees have prompted chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik to offer his resignation.

Kang's departure would create a void that Lee would have wanted to avoid, particularly since the senior presidential secretary for policy role is also vacant. But Lee should accept the resignation so he can begin to turn things around and tackle his low approval ratings — the result of a poor nominations process, division within the ruling bloc and declining economic conditions for ordinary Koreans.

Rep. Yong Hye-in, a legislator with the minor Basic Income Party, stepped aside as nominee for minister of gender equality and family after criticism flared over her intention to retain her proportional representation seat while serving as Cabinet minister. Kim Seung-won withdrew his nomination for justice minister after a series of allegations reemerged over his potential exercise of influence in pushing forward clinical trials for a COVID-19 drug, along with drunk driving and sexual harassment scandals.

President Lee repeatedly apologized for his shortcomings in a press conference last week, recognizing that he had misread public sentiment on economic issues and some of his nominees. The presidential office said that Kang's offer to step down added to the president's message that the administration is taking the situation seriously. Leaving for a trip to the U.S. and Mexico — during which he will attend the United Nations General Assembly — the president said that he has not yet decided whether to accept Kang's resignation. If he accepts his top aide's departure, it would signal the administration's determination to revamp how it vets candidates for senior government posts.

Having entered his second year in office, Lee's approval ratings have sunk to the 30 percent range. Members of his own liberal political base, including Gyeonggi Province Gov. Choo Mi-ae and political commentator and former Health Minister Rhyu Si-min, have begun criticizing the president. The Democratic Party of Korea still has a tight majority in the National Assembly, but schisms began emerging within the liberal party in the wake of the June 3 local elections and its national convention in August, when Kim Min-seok was elected party leader.

It is too early in Lee's single five-year term for such political trouble within the presidential office. The top presidential aide's resignation is intended to provide sweeping political accountability, and momentum for the administration to resolve issues with its personnel vetting system while also addressing its unilateral governance style.

The president must consider options to strengthen personnel recruitment and screening. Kang's resignation should not reduce accountability for senior secretaries of civil and personnel affairs, which are in charge of recommending and screening candidates, if the administration is serious about changing.

The president and his aides must also make it clear that while the chief executive can appoint those who he has worked with — including from his tenure as Seongnam's mayor and governor of Gyeonggi Province — the presidential office cannot let that influence the recruitment process. Stagnant water goes bad and familiarity can breed inertia.

Kang is regarded as having aptly assisted the president as chief of staff with his interpersonal skills and willingness to engage with others. However, there are questions about whether the chief of staff, as well as others in Cheong Wa Dae, could raise criticisms of the administration with the president as directly as needed.