With the announcement of Lee Jae-myung's government reorganization, interest in the Planning and Budget Office is heating up inside the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Among Deputy Directors it is seen as a place to avoid, but among Directors who have worked in the Budget Office or Budget Bureau, it is considered a place they want to go, leading to split views.
According to the government on the 21st, the Planning and Budget Office is a newly created body separated from parts of the Ministry of Economy and Finance's Budget Bureau, the fiscal policy bureau, and the future strategy bureau and fiscal management bureau. It will be responsible for budget formulation, fiscal policy management, and establishing medium- to long-term national development strategies to respond to future social changes.
The Ministry of Finance and Economy will oversee and coordinate economic policy, taxation, and treasury functions, and will also take over the domestic finance functions of the Financial Services Commission, enhancing the consistency of financial policy.
Amid these changes, a sentiment has emerged among Deputy Directors within the Ministry of Economy and Finance that they should stay in the Ministry of Finance and Economy. This is because while highly preferred tasks, such as taxation and international affairs, remain with the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Planning and Budget Office is concentrated on budget and fiscal functions, making it harder to gain diverse experience and potentially subjecting them to heavy workloads. Moreover, with the domestic finance functions of the Financial Services Commission merging into the Ministry of Finance and Economy, there is the added advantage of more opportunities to gain experience in financial policy.
Among Deputy Directors, there is also an expectation that if they are assigned to the Planning and Budget Office, it will be difficult to pursue study abroad or move to external posts in the future. This is because opportunities for dispatch to international financial institutions or overseas missions are likely to decrease, and positions at affiliated agencies are mostly concentrated in the Ministry of Finance and Economy, such as Korea Asset Management Corporation, Korea Money Brokerage, Korea Investment Corporation (KIC), and Export-Import Bank of Korea. If some functions of the Financial Services Commission are also transferred to the Ministry of Finance and Economy, positions at affiliated agencies are expected to increase even further.
In contrast, perceptions differ among those at the Director level and above. Preferences vary by background and career, but Directors who have experience in budget formulation often prefer budget work because they can wield significant influence over policy design and resource allocation.
There are also expectations that the Planning and Budget Office could be more advantageous for promotion. While the Ministry of Finance and Economy is likely to face more severe staffing bottlenecks due to integration with the Financial Services Commission, the Planning and Budget Office could see faster personnel flows through organizational expansion.
This can be seen in past cases. After the dismantling of the Ministry of Finance and Economy in 1998, the Planning and Budget Office launched in 1999 with only 248 people, but by the time it was integrated into the Ministry of Economy and Finance in 2008, it had grown to about 470, nearly doubling.
As such, the calculus differs between Deputy Director/Assistant Director levels and Directors. One Deputy Director said, "Even if the staffing bottleneck at the Planning and Budget Office eases, it will be hard to surpass the advantages of the Ministry of Finance and Economy," while one Director noted, "Budgeting and planning functions are ultimately the engine that grows an organization," rating the growth potential of the Planning and Budget Office highly.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance is currently operating a task force (TF) centered on the first and second vice ministers to separate the organization. This reorganization is significant in that it is not a mere division of posts, but a redesign of the national economic management system. The efficiency of state administration will vary depending on what policy capabilities the Ministry of Finance and Economy and the Planning and Budget Office secure going forward. We hope this reorganization will serve as an opportunity to move the national governance system one step forward, beyond a simple split.