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Civil service should not be weakened in the name of ‘overcoming insurrection’

Published: 17 Nov. 2025, 00:00

President Lee Jae Myung enters a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office in Yongsan on Nov. 11. [YONHAP]

President Lee Jae Myung said on Saturday that both “overcoming insurrection” and encouraging active public administration are tasks the government must pursue. His remarks came amid growing controversy over the creation of a “Constitutional Order Reform Task Force,” which is set to investigate whether civil servants in 49 central ministries were involved in the Dec. 3 martial-law crisis.

Posting on social media, President Lee said that rewards and penalties are the foundation of organizational management and dismissed criticism that the government was punishing and compensating at the same time. The comment was seen as an attempt to reinforce support for the task force after opposition mounted to new measures aimed at boosting morale in the bureaucracy, including the abolition of comprehensive policy audits and performance bonuses of up to 30 million won.

If any official aided the unconstitutional declaration of martial law, accountability is warranted. Yet responsibility should rest with those in positions of authority who made unilateral decisions behind closed doors and with the small circle of collaborators around them. Extending suspicion to ordinary civil servants who first learned of martial law through the news and spent six hours confused and directionless is excessive. Such an approach risks undermining morale and deepening political turmoil.

Investigations into former president Yoon Suk Yeol and other key actors are already under way, led by an independent counsel. For an executive task force to treat the entire civil service as potential suspects goes beyond overreach and raises constitutional concerns.

The proposed investigative methods heighten those worries. The administration plans to open an “insurrection report center,” allow pro-government civilians to help draft investigative criteria, and request civil servants’ personal mobile phones to review their movements over a 10-month period. Although framed as voluntary, officials who refuse may face career disadvantages, making the request all but compulsory. Even records of officials who do not face discipline or prosecution would be kept by the Ministry of Personnel Management for future personnel decisions, effectively creating a blacklist of presumed collaborators.

The Moon Jae-in administration’s drive to “eradicate deep-rooted evils” also led to an excessive investigative posture that chilled the bureaucracy. Its unintended consequences were significant. At the Foreign Ministry, officers reportedly avoided routine communication with Japanese diplomats for fear of being labeled part of the old establishment. That effort involved 19 ministries and agencies; this time, task forces would be created in every ministry, raising the potential for greater disruption. Reports already suggest anonymous denunciations are spreading within ministries.

President Lee said during a campaign speech six days before the June 3 election that he would not become a “half-president” who punishes the half of the population that opposed him, and that he hoped to unite national capabilities. If that promise was sincere, what the civil service needs now is leadership that reassures and stabilizes. A task force created in the name of constitutional order must not become another instrument of political retaliation.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.