The three central government ministries with the most new trainee Deputy Directors assigned this year were the Ministry of Economy and Finance (19), the Ministry of Science and ICT (18), and the Korea Fair Trade Commission (18). In particular, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC)'s trainee Deputy Directors accounted for 3% of its total headcount, higher than the Ministry of Economy and Finance (2.4%) and the Ministry of Science and ICT (2.2%). In other words, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) received more Deputy Directors relative to its headcount than the two deputy prime minister-led ministries.
Analysts say this is linked to President Lee Jae-myung empowering the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC), often called the "economic prosecutors," since taking office. The president has repeatedly instructed the agency at public venues, including Cabinet meetings, to strengthen investigations and sanctions against unfair transactions such as collusion that affect people's livelihoods. In response, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has increased its headcount by about 400 since the current administration took office.
◇ "Economic prosecutors" Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) gets 18 trainee Deputy Directors
According to ministry-by-ministry assignment data for successful candidates of the Grade-5 open competitive exam obtained by ChosunBiz on the 2nd, 18 trainee Deputy Directors will be assigned to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) this year. That is 10 more than the eight in 2024, and double last year's nine.
Compared with its organization size, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC)'s staffing reinforcement stands out even more. According to last year's personnel innovation statistical yearbook, the FTC had 269 Grade-5 incumbents, and this year's trainee Deputy Directors amount to 6.7% of them. That is roughly one new Deputy Director for every about 15 existing Grade-5 Deputy Directors. By the same yardstick, it is about 4.4 times the Ministry of Science and ICT's assignment ratio (1.5%). It is also higher than the Ministry of Economy and Finance's ratio (5.7%) before it was split into the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Budget.
Typically, the top spots for trainee Deputy Director assignments have gone to large economic ministries led by the deputy prime minister. While the Korea Fair Trade Commission chairperson has ministerial rank, the chairperson is not a Cabinet member, yet relatively more new Deputy Directors were assigned to the agency compared with its size than to the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Science and ICT, both led by a deputy prime minister who serves as a Cabinet member.
◇ Lee has stressed the FTC's role since taking office… Other ministry officials also say "I want to go to the FTC"
Some interpret this as the Lee Jae-myung administration continuing to bulk up the "economic prosecutors." From early in the term, the president has repeatedly called for expanding the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC)'s workforce while sharply criticizing corporations for unfair practices.
At the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC)'s business briefing in Dec. last year, the president said, "There needs to be an awareness that if you engage in unfair practices, corporations can be hit with a penalty surcharge large enough to bring them down," and at a senior secretaries' meeting in Feb., said, "Collusion is a cancer that blocks the development of the national economy, so corporations that repeat it should be permanently expelled from the market."
In step with this, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) alone is pushing to add about 400 staff this year. The soon-to-be-established "Strategic Investigation Planning Team" is seen as a revival, for the first time in about 20 years, of the functions of the former Investigation Bureau, once dubbed the "grim reaper of large corporations."
As the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC)'s stature has grown, demand from officials in other ministries to transfer in has also increased. In a transfer recruitment held in the first half of this year for Grade-7 officials at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, all roughly eight applicants were said to have listed the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) as their desired destination.
Along with staffing increases, investigations and sanctions targeting corporations are also strengthening. A representative at a major law firm said, "The Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC)'s on-site investigation count has increased significantly this year." Large penalty surcharges have also followed. Three cases this year—the wheat flour price-fixing case (671 billion won), the sugar price-fixing case (396 billion won), and the four major commercial banks' loan-to-value (LTV) information exchange collusion case (272 billion won)—ranked as the FTC's No. 2, No. 4, and No. 9 largest penalty surcharges on record.
An official at the Ministry of Personnel Management said, "The Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC)'s assignment numbers are expected to continue increasing."