President-elect to abolish office for senior secretary for civil affairs

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said Monday that he will abolish the post of senior secretary for civil affairs at his presidential office, ridding it of its inspection and intelligence functions.

Explaining how the office has played a role in illegal inspections on society, Yoon said he will “clear away the remnant” in his government, in a meeting with the leadership of his presidential transition committee.

“In the past, the senior secretary for civil affairs at the presidential office has held dominance over inspection agencies to control political opponents, and it also has been running secret investigations in disguise to lawfully review public opinions,” the president-elect was quoted as saying during the meeting, according to his spokesperson Kim Eun-hye.

“The presidential office that I pursue is only focused on working for the people, and managing and finding policies as a capable government.”

The Office of Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs handles discipline for public officials and issues surrounding the president’s family and senior officials.

Yoon held the first meeting with Ahn Cheol-soo, the committee chairman, Rep. Kwon Young-se, the vice chairman, and Won Hee-ryong, chief of its planning committee.

Yoon also announced additional chiefs for the subcommittees of the presidential transition committee.

The committee dedicated to promoting national integration will be headed by Kim Han-gil, who was the chief of the Saesidae Preparation Committee that was formed as a subcommittee under Yoon’s first presidential campaign team.

For the committee in charge of balanced regional growth, Yoon named Kim Byong-joon, former standing chairman for Yoon’s campaign team.

“Kim Han-gil is a person who can address all generations and bring national integration. As for Kim Byong-joon, I believe he would be able to draw up the big picture for balanced growth of regions, with his expertise in decentralization,” Yoon said.

Kim Byong-joon is a professor emeritus at Kookmin University who has published academic books on municipal control used in universities.

As his first outreach to the public, Yoon visited the Namdaemun traditional market in Seoul to meet merchants there and address the difficulties they face from the pandemic.

In a separate press conference in the afternoon, chief of the transition committee Ahn announced three members who will be in the committee‘s planning and management division.

Head chief Rep. Choo Kyung-ho of the People Power Party, Rep. Lee Tae-kyu of the People’s Party and Choi Jong-hag, an accounting professor at Seoul National University, will lead in the planning and management division, which will set the operation principles for its other six divisions at the transition committee.

Making his first public address as the transition committee head, Ahn vowed to do his best in drawing up the policy blueprint for the upcoming government.

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