Presidential office shrugs off allegations of nepotism in staffer appointments
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol is coming under fire for employees seemingly hired because of their personal connections, but the presidential office has countered that this amounts to “negative political attacks and framing.” As Yoon’s officials complain that the uproar over personnel hiring — which is considered a central factor in Yoon’s slipping approval ratings — is “unfair and unjust,” critics say that the presidential office remains out of touch with public opinion.
A senior official in the presidential office fielded questions about the hiring scandal from reporters at the Yongsan office on Sunday.
“These are individuals who were selected through legal means after their work capabilities were adequately vetted and recognized. Appointments are made through a painstaking process of verifying their career and their identity, which makes it unlikely that unfit people will be hired. I don’t agree that personal connections are playing a role in the hiring process,” the official said.
The official also rebutted the opposition Democratic Party’s claim that Yoon’s appointments run contrary to the fairness and common sense the president has championed, dismissing that as a political attack. “I suspect that various political claims are being blown out of proportion since the party is about to hold its convention,” the official said.
Figures in the presidential office thought to be examples of nepotism or cronyism include a senior administrator surnamed Choi, who is a distant maternal cousin of Yoon, as well as an administrative staffer surnamed Woo and an administrator surnamed Hwang, both children of Yoon’s long-time friends.
Eyebrows were again raised when a woman surnamed Shin, wife of Yoon’s personnel secretary, Lee Won-mo, accompanied Yoon and First Lady Kim Keon-hee as a “special attendant” during their trip to the NATO summit, though that didn’t lead to a permanent position.
It also turns out that Woo, Shin and Shin’s mother each donated 10 million won to Yoon soon after he threw his hat in the political ring last year.
Doubts about the presidential office’s hiring standards and vetting process were aggravated by the news that two employees from Covana Contents, formerly run by the first lady, were hired under Yoon’s secretary for administrative affairs as Kim’s attendants. In addition, a woman surnamed Ahn, the older sister of a far-right YouTuber who is among the protestors shouting profanities in front of the home of former President Moon Jae-in, in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, was working in the presidential office.
The growing scandal forced Ahn to resign, but the presidential office has been unable to explain what channel Ahn was hired through.
Whenever allegations of nepotism are raised, the presidential office has consistently denied any wrongdoing. Yoon himself seemed to shrug off the news that his distant maternal cousin was working in the presidential office, remarking on July 8 that the man was “a colleague who applied himself diligently in the presidential campaign in an official capacity.” Read More…
