Did the Administration Need Such a Blunt ‘Keeper of the Treasury’? A Korean Literature Major Named Budget Chief
Who is Park Hong-keun? The media describe him merely as a former floor leader of the Democratic Party
[Choice Times=Sun-Young Park, former Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission]
On the 2nd, President Lee Jae-myung nominated Rep. Park Hong-keun of the Democratic Party as Minister of Planning and Budget, replacing former nominee Lee Hye-hoon, who stepped down. A four-term lawmaker and graduate of Kyung Hee University’s Department of Korean Language and Literature, Park had been preparing a bid for Seoul mayor. During the last presidential election, he served as Lee’s chief of staff.
As Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, the president nominated Hwang Jong-woo, head of international cooperation at the Korea Maritime Cooperation Center.
Song Sang-gyo, secretary-general of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, was appointed chair of the Commission.
Vice chairs of the Presidential Committee on Regulatory Rationalization were named as former Democratic Party lawmaker Park Yong-jin, KAIST professor Lee Byung-tae, and Namgoong Beom, adviser to S-1 Corporation. (Editor’s note)
Did the administration truly need such an overt “keeper of the treasury”?
From Singapore, President Lee nominated Park Hong-keun as Minister of Planning and Budget.
Who is Park Hong-keun? The media describe him merely as a former floor leader of the Democratic Party. But he was also President Lee’s chief of staff—specifically during Lee’s presidential campaign. Some may see this as a reward appointment. In reality, it is closer to appointing an alter ego.
There is a vast difference between an ordinary chief of staff and a campaign chief of staff. In effect, this is less about heading the budget ministry and more about governing from behind the scenes—without even lowering the curtain.
Moreover, Park is not an economist. He studied Korean literature. Is one month (July to August 2021) as chair of the National Assembly’s budget committee sufficient to qualify him as an expert?
If handling last-minute budget insertions and deletions for a month makes one an “expert,” then having served for years as co-chair of the Parliamentary Forum on Animal Welfare might better qualify him to head a dog-lovers’ association.
On the same day in Singapore, President Lee also appointed Hwang Jong-woo as Oceans and Fisheries Minister and named Park Yong-jin, Lee Byung-tae, and Namgoong Beom as vice chairs of the Regulatory Rationalization Committee.
Hwang may be from Busan, and that may suffice for some. But the Regulatory Rationalization Committee—formerly the Regulatory Reform Committee—has merely changed its name. The president serves as chair, and the prime minister is an ex officio vice chair. If the president and prime minister say jump, will the three newly appointed vice chairs dare to speak up?
Perhaps that is why the Regulatory Reform Committee failed at reform. And now it is called “rationalization.” It is hard to offer congratulations to Professor Lee Byung-tae on his appointment at vice-prime-minister rank. We shall see what role he plays and how regulations are truly “rationalized.”
A postscript: When I was announced as chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Song Sang-gyo—then secretary-general of Minbyun (Lawyers for a Democratic Society)—verbally offered his resignation to the outgoing chair but never formally submitted it, instead attempting at every turn to obstruct my work. Today, he too has become a ministerial-level chair.
The commission consists of three presidential appointees, one appointed by the National Assembly speaker, four from the president’s affiliated negotiating bloc (the Democratic Party), four from other negotiating blocs, and one from a non-negotiating bloc.
How many members, then, are recommended by the People Power Party? Conservatives alone seem unaware of how crucial the Truth and Reconciliation Commission truly is. Their lack of attention is part of why the country has drifted to this point.
The treasury is not merely about safeguarding money. The treasury that interprets and shapes history is far more important—immeasurably more important—than the one that guards the nation’s finances.
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