As the presidential transition team takes shape, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said he would pursue change in the personnel vetting process, using the United States as reference.

Yoon said he plans to abolish the Office of Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs, which handles discipline for public officials, and transfer its functions that include vetting nominees for Cabinet posts to other entities, such as the Justice Ministry and police, in a bid to avoid criticisms of “closed-door” appointments.

As the Justice Ministry and police have been participating in the vetting process, pundits say the abolishment of the office at Cheong Wa Dae would not bring a significant change to the current system. But opponents claim it is a plan for the longtime prosecutor to reinforce the status of the prosecution.

In the appointment of Cabinet members, it is currently the secretary to the president for public office discipline, affiliated with the office for the senior secretary for civil affairs, who carries out the verification, collecting information on the nominees from government institutions.

As seen in past cases, the preferred institutions varied depending on the administration, but the police and Justice Ministry have played major roles in providing the data on potential candidates to the presidential office, upon request. Other institutions include the Financial Supervisory Service and the National Intelligence Service.

What Yoon says in his plan is for the presidential office to only recommend nominees for Cabinet posts, and have other institutions run the vetting process.

The government would thereby be able to secure objectivity and avoid a situation where a nominee who finished the state examination fails to pass the confirmation hearing at the National Assembly due to lax vetting, according to a Yoon’s aide.

While there is still much to be discussed on the details, Yoon’s secretary’s office referred to the vetting process of the United States.

“As in the case of the US, the White House does not have the inspection authority, and it is other authority institutions, such as the FBI, that carry out” the personnel vetting, the president-elect’s spokesperson Kim Eun-hye said.

In the US, they have different state agencies, such as the FBI, Office of Government Ethics and Internal Revenue Service, run their own background checks of the nominees, including of their assets, criminal record and personal affairs.

In the legal circles, there are opinions that the Justice Ministry would have to establish a separate entity within the ministry solely dedicated to the vetting duty, if the Justice Ministry were to take charge.

Yoon’s confidant Rep. Kwon Seong-dong of the People Power Party also hinted at the possibility of establishing a new secretary office at the presidential office that is only focused on personnel inspection.

Among opponents, Yoon’s proposal has been criticized as a means to strengthen the authority of the Justice Ministry and the prosecution.

“The decision to reorganize the offices inside Cheong Wa Dae is up to the next government, but the plan to have the Justice Ministry take charge of the personnel vetting still brings serious concerns,” Yun Ho-jung, floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, said in a party meeting Wednesday.

With the Justice Ministry in charge, the prosecution would be able to wield influence in personnel appointments, getting hold of the personnel information and public views of the nominees for government posts, Yun said.

“Having the first prosecutor-turned-president, there are a lot of people who are worried about the prosecution’s dictatorship, and also political reprisals of opponents,” the floor leader added.

By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)