Choi Dong-seok, Minister of Personnel Management, criticized the personnel failures of the Moon Jae-in administration in a book he published four years ago, arguing that the personal conservative tendencies of former President Moon Jae-in and archaic appointment methods influenced the results. This extends from the past controversy in which Choi referred to former President Moon and former Rebuilding Korea Party leader Cho Kuk as 'incompetent people.'
According to a comprehensive report by ChosunBiz on the 28th, Minister Choi directly mentioned the personnel failures of the Moon Jae-in administration in his book 'Achievement Prediction Model,' saying, 'It was too devastating to simply call it a personnel failure, surpassing Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, Prime Minister Jeong Se-kyun, Prosecutor General Yoon Suk-yeol, Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman Choi Jae-hyung, and Supreme Court Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo, extending down to cabinet ministers.'
Minister Choi found the causes of the personnel failures in the Moon Jae-in administration in the tendencies of former President Moon. He stated, 'The reason this situation occurred so prominently in the Moon Jae-in administration is due to Moon Jae-in's personal conservative tendencies,' adding that personnel appointments were made in an archaic manner, relying on the opinions of a few individuals rather than an ability assessment system.
Minister Choi also categorized major political figures according to his achievement prediction model as 'those who advanced Korean civilization' and 'those who regressed Korean civilization.' According to this classification, President Lee Jae-myung was rated 96 points as someone who advanced Korean civilization, while former President Moon Jae-in was rated -70 points as someone who regressed it. Notably, former President Moon's score was even lower than that of Han Dong-hoon, the former representative of the People Power Party, who received -60 points.
Han Dong-hoon mentioned this fact on his Facebook, stating, 'If this person remains the overall person in charge of personnel affairs in this government, the personnel work in this government might become unscientific like this bizarre score chart, which should worry the public.' He added, 'We need to make him resign before it gets any later.'
The book also contains extensive criticisms of senior public officials and lawmakers belonging to the Democratic Party during the Moon Jae-in administration. Minister Choi noted, 'In the April 2020 general election, the democratic citizens gave 180 seats to the Democratic Party, expecting a significant reform,' but stated, 'However, instead of reforms, there emerged individuals among high-ranking officials who privatized the law and abused their power.'
'Those who were appointed during the Moon Jae-in administration were unreserved in criticizing the administration, causing its approval rating to drop,' he remarked, adding, 'Yet how many can understand the situation that they cannot help?'
Minister Choi also stated, 'Especially under the Moon Jae-in administration, there was inappropriate conduct from the prosecution, which is merely an external agency of the Ministry of Justice. This situation was left to the Minister of Justice alone, while everyone else just watched the fire across the river,' questioning, 'I wonder why the ministers are even there.'
Minister Choi is becoming embroiled in controversy as it has surfaced that he made 'outrageous remarks' against members of the ruling party on past YouTube broadcasts and social media. In one broadcast last May, he posted photos of former President Moon Jae-in and former leader Cho Kuk, stating, 'Incompetent people talk to incompetent people,' and added, 'Incompetent individuals respect each other. It's maddening.'
Minister Choi commented about the then Presidential Chief of Staff Woo Sang-ho last June, saying, 'He has been living off that one thing—holding the memory of martyr Lee Han-yeol for 20 years.' In March 2021, he wrote on Facebook about Minister of Justice Jeong Sung-ho, saying, 'The biggest problem for the Democratic Party is that there are too many people like Jeong Sung-ho,' and added, 'Why is it like this?'.
Minister Choi described the sexual harassment case involving the late former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon as 'a planned incident' and criticized attorney Kim Jae-ryun, who represented the victim, saying she is 'someone who needs treatment.' He queried, 'Those claiming that they are causing secondary damage, yet not knowing the identity of the victim—who on earth could be causing secondary damage?'
Despite the concerns voiced by the leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea regarding Minister Choi, there is a plan to minimize the 'personnel controversy.' A key party official stated, 'This is an evaluation of our faction's personnel, and it seems unhelpful to continue this debate,' adding, 'The President must have thought it through sufficiently, so discussing personnel issues is not advisable.'