NEC requests investigation of four officials over nepotism

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NEC requests investigation of four officials over nepotism

Rho Tae-ak, chief of the National Election Commission, bows his head in a public apology over allegations of preferential treatment given in the hiring process to children of its high-ranking officials at a press conference at the agency's headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi, on Wednesday. [NEWS1]

Rho Tae-ak, chief of the National Election Commission, bows his head in a public apology over allegations of preferential treatment given in the hiring process to children of its high-ranking officials at a press conference at the agency's headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi, on Wednesday. [NEWS1]

The National Election Commission (NEC) said Wednesday it will request an investigation into four high-ranking officials whose children were hired to posts at the election watchdog through alleged nepotism.  
 
Rho Tae-ak, chairman of the NEC, announced the results of a special internal audit into the alleged preferential treatment of the children of its high-ranking officials in a press conference held at the agency's headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi.  
 
The NEC's special audit committee completed its review of four individuals accused of irregularities in the hiring process of their offspring, targeting NEC Secretary General Park Chan-jin and Deputy Secretary General Song Bong-seop, as well as a standing member of the election commission's Jeju branch and a general affairs manager in the South Gyeongsang branch.  
 
Earlier Wednesday, the NEC convened an emergency meeting presided over by Rho to receive a report on the results of the internal probe which has been underway since May 17 and discuss follow-up measures.  
 
The committee found that the accused individuals could be seen as having exercised undue influence in the process of recruiting their children to career positions at the election watchdog and requested an investigation and a referral to the disciplinary committee.  
 
This could be in violation of Article 44 of the State Public Officials Act, which stipulates that "no person shall intentionally engage in any conduct interfering with, or exerting any unfavorable effect on, any examination or appointment."
 
"Through abolishing or drastically reducing the career recruitment system, which has been problematic, we will do our best to ensure that our internal system is reborn as a healthier and more transparent organization to alleviate any such allegations," Rho said.  
 
Rho said the secretary general position, which has been limited to candidates from within the agency for the past 35 years, will be opened to external candidates.  
 
Addressing the concern of political appointments of high-ranking NEC posts such as the secretary general, Rho said that a personnel verification committee will be established to separately confirm if candidates are qualified to hold these positions.  
 
Rho also announced that the recruitment of career officials in the future will be limited to those with directorial experience or expertise in elections, responding to the criticism of the process of hiring inexperienced people.
 
The NEC will also jointly investigate with an independent outside agency the relatives of former and incumbent employees to see if there are further cases of preferential treatment in their hiring. The NEC said that at least four other cases of preferential treatment in hiring, in addition to six confirmed ones, were found.
 
Last week, NEC Secretary General Park, and Deputy Secretary General Song tendered their resignations after allegations that their daughters had been unfairly hired to work at the NEC's regional offices, possibly violating ethics codes and abusing their authority.  
 
This comes after Park and Song claimed that their children had not received any favoritism nor used their "dad chance," as such nepotism is called.  
 
On Tuesday, Rho apologized to the public for its recent controversy over alleged nepotistic hiring practices within the agency.  
 
This came as lawmakers of the People Power Party (PPP) called for Rho to step down to take responsibility for the situation.  
 
Rho offered another public apology in the press conference Wednesday but stressed that he has "no plans" on resigning from his post for the time being.
 
"As an institution in charge of election management, the beginning and end of democracy, we are determined to fulfill the weight of constitutional responsibility," Rho said. "We will become a fair and transparent election commission, abiding by the law and principles with a strictly neutral attitude so that the public will no longer be concerned."
 
Regarding the PPP leadership's proposal to conduct a special investigation into the issue, he said that he would accept a parliamentary probe but said, "First of all, I will do my best to focus on resolving the scattered problems."
 

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]
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