The Democratic Party is pushing for a legal amendment that links the terms of the president and public institution heads. The different terms of the appointing authority, the president (5 years), and the institution heads (3 years) have caused significant confusion with each change of government. This leads to clashes between the new government wanting to oust those in office and the institution heads trying to hold on to their positions. Public institutions are also considered breeding grounds for parachute appointments at the end of a regime. Both ruling and opposition parties had promised to eradicate 'land-grabbing' but have repeatedly withdrawn once they assumed power.
According to a report by ChosunBiz on the 28th, the Democratic Party proposed a meeting of the Strategy and Finance Committee to discuss the amendment to the 'Public Institution Operation Law' (hereafter referred to as Public Institution Law), which was initiated by Representative Park Sang-hyuk last June. It is reported that during the negotiations between the ruling and opposition party whips of the Strategy and Finance Committee, the plan to hold both a subcommittee and a general meeting to review the bill as early as next week was also mentioned.
Jin Sung-jun, the policy chairperson of the Democratic Party, also mentioned during a party policy adjustment meeting the day before that the Korea Communications Commission appointed Shin Dong-ho as the new president under a two-person system. Chairperson Jin said, "They pushed through the 'land-grabbing' even committing illegal acts," and added, "We will amend the Public Institution Operation Law to align the terms of the president and public institution heads."
Under current law, the term for heads of public enterprises and quasi-government institutions is 3 years, while directors and auditors are guaranteed a term of 2 years. Reappointment is possible on a yearly basis, considering management performance. It is common for new administrations to pressure existing heads of institutions to resign or to replace them halfway through their terms. The amendment proposes to ▲ shorten the terms of heads and executives to 2 years ▲ limit reappointments to 1 year ▲ consider the terms of appointees as expired upon the conclusion of the president's term.
◇Even if retroactive application is not possible… it is repeatedly frustrated by political issues
The Democratic Party's attempt to amend the law emerged amid discussions of an early presidential election ahead of the impeachment trial ruling against President Yoon Suk-yeol. The party's policy committee recently released a list of 106 individuals associated with 'land-grabbing' appointments under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration. In particular, they found that following the emergency martial law on Dec. 3, 53 personnel from the ruling party were parachute-appointed as heads of public enterprises under government departments. This was presented as the justification for amending the Public Institution Law.
Even if the law changes, changes to the terms of heads will not be retroactively applied. The amendment includes a provision stating that the law will take effect from the start of the 21st president's term and that the term-related provisions will apply to heads appointed after the law comes into effect. This is entirely unrelated to the terms of public institution heads appointed under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.
Nevertheless, the ruling party's negative stance on the discussion is due to timing. They believe the Democratic Party is trying to oust the heads of current institutions with an eye on an early presidential election. An official from the Strategy and Finance Committee of the People Power Party noted that while they understand the intention behind the legal amendment, "The very discussion could be seen as pressure on the heads of subordinate institutions," adding that "The Democratic Party seems to be exercising force at the end of a regime." They also suggested that the Strategy and Finance Committee's tax subcommittee discuss 'eliminating the spouse inheritance tax' first, indicating that it is a lower priority.
A key official from the Democratic Party's Strategy and Finance Committee said in a phone conversation, "Regardless of which regime, the law is fundamentally necessary, but being interpreted as political pressure does not help." He added, "If it seems like they are targeting the terms of heads because it looks like the regime will change soon, it will inevitably be misunderstood as overly transparent," and continued, "To eradicate the repeated ills even under a Democratic Party regime, we must approach this as something that needs to be implemented immediately."
◇“Let’s adjust the term,” but change the words once in power
The Democratic Party is already facing criticism of 'double standards' for proposing this legal amendment. In the early days of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, they argued for the guarantee of the terms of public institution heads appointed by the Moon Jae-in administration. A notable example is Jeong Hyun-hee, the then Chairperson of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (with a term of 3 years). Although the regime changed in 2022, the Democratic Party and former Chairperson Jeong refused to resign, claiming that they had remaining terms. Once the audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection started, the Democratic Party argued that it was a targeted audit by the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.
In May of the following year, 2023, there was a conflict between the ruling and opposition parties over the dismissal of Han Sang-hyeok, then Chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission. After President Yoon approved the dismissal, Representative Lee Jae-myung stated, "You cannot dismiss a civil servant whose term is guaranteed as if they were an ordinary civil servant." The Democratic Party repeatedly issued statements calling for "guaranteeing the independence and term of public institution heads."
The People Power Party faced similar criticism. The then policy chairperson of the Liberty Korea Party (the predecessor of the People Power Party) stated in 2017, when the Moon Jae-in administration began, "To demand the resignation of heads of public institutions appointed by the previous government is political revenge." At the time, the 'Ministry of Environment blacklist' incident escalated into a judicial issue across various departments. The People Power Party, which had demanded term guarantees, changed its stance immediately after the start of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration. Then-Minority Leader Kweon Seong-dong said, "The idea of working together with a president whose policy direction differs is problematic."
◇Since the 20th National Assembly, there has been a bill proposal… “There is sufficient need for discussion”
Attempts to amend the law have already begun during the 20th National Assembly. In 2019, Representative Kim Jeong-woo of the Democratic Party introduced a related amendment. It was discussed once in the economic and finance subcommittee of the Strategy and Finance Committee, but thereafter it was not properly addressed and was discarded due to term expiration. In the 21st National Assembly in 2022, Democratic Party Representatives Oh Gi-hyeong and Kim Seong-hwan, and People Power Party Representative Jeong Woo-taek submitted bills that were referred to a subcommittee, but no conclusion was reached. In December of the same year, the leadership of both parties brought up the amendment to the Public Institution Law as an agenda item, but discussions broke down over debate about the 'scope of public institution heads.'
Song Eon-seok, the chairperson of the relevant standing committee, stated, "Even at the end of the Moon Jae-in administration, the People Power Party argued that a term adjustment was needed to prevent 'land-grabbing,'" adding, "If it is clear that it will apply after the next presidential election, it is worth discussing thoroughly." However, he also noted that "Bringing this up at such a time (ahead of the impeachment ruling) is quite politically charged," claiming that "It is inappropriate timing."