Former Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency Administrator Jeong Eun-kyeong, who was considered a strong candidate for Lee Jae-myung's government Minister of Health and Welfare, has been reportedly excluded from the list of candidates following emerging allegations of stock investments related to her spouse's novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The figure, who was a symbol of COVID-19 response, has been ensnared in controversies regarding personal profit-seeking through her family's COVID involvement.
According to political and government officials on the 20th, during the presidential office's personnel verification process for Jeong, a strong candidate for Minister, it was confirmed that her spouse purchased stocks of companies that produced testing kits and masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, yielding substantial profits. Furthermore, it was identified that there was a significant discrepancy between the explanation materials submitted by Jeong to the presidential office and the actual amounts received by her spouse.
◇When requesting masks and testing kits, the husband was buying stocks
Jeong Eun-kyeong served as the head of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2017 under the Moon Jae-in government and was appointed as the inaugural Administrator of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency upon its elevation in 2020, leading COVID-19 prevention efforts for about two years until May 2022. By frequently addressing the public during briefings, she alleviated public anxiety, gaining high credibility to the extent that it was said, "what Jeong Eun-kyeong says is the government's position." She also served as the overall chairperson of the Democratic Party of Korea's Central Election Countermeasure Committee in this presidential election.
However, during the time Jeong was urging the public to wear masks and use self-testing kits, it was revealed that her spouse bought stocks from companies producing those items. Both Jeong and her spouse are specialists in family medicine, having graduated from Seoul National University College of Medicine and completed their residency training at Seoul National University Hospital.
The asset registration details of public officials from 2017 to 2022, when Jeong was in office, included the fact that her spouse held approximately 5,000 shares in Changhae Ethanol, a company producing ethyl alcohol, a raw material for hand sanitizers. This became public knowledge through media reports in October 2022, leading to criticism; however, it has been revealed that there were more COVID-related stocks that her spouse held, uncovered during the personnel verification process. Additionally, it was reported that some items were omitted or reported at amounts lower than the actual amounts received in the asset-related documents recently submitted by Jeong to the presidential office.
The presidential office reportedly assessed that such stock transactions could lead to conflicts of interest beyond mere asset formation. An official from the presidential office noted, "While Jeong Eun-kyeong herself was a symbol of epidemic prevention, if her spouse profited from COVID, which citizen would accept that?" adding, "The current atmosphere in Yongsan is that Jeong Eun-kyeong must not be appointed under any circumstances."
The 'Conflict of Interest Prevention Act for Public Officials', which was enforced from 2022, stipulates that both public officials and their spouses and immediate family members must report any economic activities related to their duties or avoid their duties. In particular, if family members profit using information obtained through official duties, they are subject to criminal punishment or fines. The Public Service Ethics Act also requires that if the value of shares in a conflict of interest corporation exceeds 30 million won, they must be sold or placed in a blind trust within two months.
The former Administrator was the person responsible for overseeing the national epidemic prevention policy, and masks and testing kits were items in short supply directly affecting the lives of citizens at that time. As such, there is criticism that the very act of a person in a position accessible to such information profiting from related stocks under their spouse's name directly contravenes the intent of the law.
In fact, Baek Kyung-ran, the first Administrator of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency under the Yoon Suk-yeol government, also resigned voluntarily after similar controversies within seven months of her appointment. Although Baek sold some biotech stock held by her spouse immediately after notifying relatedness to her duties, she came under criticism for also holding SK bioscience and Syntekabio under her own name. Furthermore, as it was revealed that her younger brother applied for the outside director position at a company producing COVID-19 testing kits and included 'sister of the disease control agency administrator' in his resume, public sentiment rapidly deteriorated.
◇Minister of Health and Welfare, a showdown between doctor-lawmaker and former bureaucrats
As Jeong was effectively excluded from the candidate list, the atmosphere is shifting towards Minister of Health and Welfare candidates being lawmakers with medical backgrounds or former bureaucrats with rich practical experience in the ministry. It has been reported that even within the Ministry of Health and Welfare, they conveyed to the presidential office a preference for candidates who have both legislative capabilities and policy understanding.
Currently, prominent candidates include Jeon Hyun-hee, a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party of Korea, Kang Cheong-hee, Chairperson of the Democratic Party of Korea's Health and Medical Special Committee, Kim Kang-rip, former Commissioner of the Korea Food and Drug Administration (currently an adjunct professor at Yonsei University Graduate School of Public Health), and Yang Seung-il, former Vice Minister of Health and Welfare (currently a professor at Korea University Graduate School of Health).
Representative Jeon Hyun-hee, a dentist and attorney, has been active as a practical committee member of the Ministry of Health and Welfare since 2003 and has served as the Chairperson of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission. Currently, she is a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee, where her strong legislative response capabilities regarding medical and welfare issues are highly regarded.
Chairperson Kang Cheong-hee, a thoracic surgeon, is expected to resolve conflicts between the medical community and the government, having served as the full-time vice president of the Korean Medical Association from 2014 to 2016. Recently, she has publicly expressed her policy vision and direction for the Minister of Health and Welfare position through her social media.
Professors Kim Kang-rip and Yang Seung-il are both career bureaucrats who served in the Ministry of Health and Welfare for 30 years, holding positions such as Director of Health Industry Policy, Pension Policy Director, and Director of Health Policy. Both served as Vice Ministers of Health and Welfare under the Moon Jae-in government and are considered practical candidates in terms of policy continuity and industrial understanding. Subsequently, former Commissioner Kim was appointed as the Commissioner of the Korea Food and Drug Administration, and former Vice Minister Yang worked as a co-chairperson of the welfare policy division at the think tank of presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung in this election.