Agencies led by Moon holdovers get poor grades

Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission Chair, Jeon Hyun-heui, who is a Democratic Party lawmaker, at a press briefing in Seoul on Feb. 3. [YONHAP]

Government agencies whose heads were picked by President Moon Jae-in received the lowest grade in a recent evaluation of state bodies.

Government agencies responsible for the Itaewon tragedy where 158 people died during Halloween weekend last year also received low grades.

The Office for Government Policy Coordination on Tuesday released its evaluations of 45 government institutions.

Agencies received grades of A, B or C, with eight receiving the lowest grade of C.

The eight included the Korea Communications Commissions (KCC), Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission (ACRC), Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and National Police Agency.

Both the KCC and ACRC are headed by individuals who were appointed by the previous Moon administration.

Han Sang-hyuk, the KCC chairman, is a well-known liberal who co-headed a media-related civic group before being appointed to head the communications agency by President Moon in August 2019.

The Yoon Suk Yeol government and the People Power Party have pressured him to resign on the grounds that the current government has an entirely different philosophy and agenda.

Though Han has been excluded from weekly cabinet meeting, he refuses to quit and plans to complete his tenure, which ends this July.

The ACRC’s chairwoman, Jeon Hyun-heui, is a Democratic Party (DP) lawmaker who was also appointed by President Moon in June 2020.

She, too, has also been told to resign, but she refuses and has repeatedly stressed that she will finish her given term, which expires in June.

According to the government, 224 experts from the private sector evaluated the government institutions. Almost 35,000 ordinary Korean citizens also participated in a survey, the results of which were reflected in the evaluations.

The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, which also played a key role in suspending the operations of newly built nuclear power plants during the Moon government, also was given the lowest grade.

The police agency received a C as well for its mishandling of the Itaewon tragedy.

Another government agency that was held responsible for the Itaewon tragedy, the Interior and Safety Ministry, received a B on its report card.

When asked if the Itaewon crisis affected the grade on the Interior and Safety Ministry, the policy coordination office said the ministry received a poor grade on policies regarding disaster and safety.

However, it didn’t get a C because of its efforts in other areas, including pushing for the digitalization of the government while restructuring the numerous government committees that popped up during the previous administration.

The Gender Equality Ministry was another government agency that received the lowest evaluation. President Yoon has questioned the existence and role of the gender equality ministry since he ran for office.

Twelve government agencies received the highest grade, including the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Ministry of Science and ICT and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“The agencies that aggressively pushed for regulatory reform, achievements that received strong public support as well as contributed to the government’s national affairs management base on principle and common sense, were given the highest score,” said Baek Il-hyun, head of the Government Performance Evaluation Office.

The Land Ministry was given a top grade for its policies and efforts in normalizing the real estate market, while the Science Ministry was given an A for launching the space vehicle Nuri and the moon orbiter Danuri.

However, the government coordination office raised the need for improvements in policy communication as well as innovative changes within the government.

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]