Ex-officials head 30% of public firms

Only 17.5 percent hired from within company


Three out of 10 heads of institutions run by government agencies were found to be former officials of those same agencies.

Among 286 public companies run by some 30 ministries and other state-run agencies, 82 executives were found to have, at one point, worked for one of the ministries or agencies, according to Alio, a website compiling management information on publicly run firms on Tuesday.

These former officials accounted for almost 30 percent of the executives at these institutions.

Further, more than 80 percent of the presidents of these companies were hired from outside, such as related government agencies, with only 17.5 percent promoted from within.

Many of their new jobs have nothing to do with their previous careers or work, which is why critics believe the appointments were based on favoritism and likely to undermine the competitiveness of the organizations.

“These officials usually have spent more than a decade in the government, which means they are very likely to be unable to think of the organization they are currently running as separate from their original workplace,” said Chang Jung-wook of the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy.

It’s typical in Korea for high-ranking government officials or politicians to nab high seats in public companies following their retirement, making it virtually impossible for people from within these companies to ever take the top post.

The heads of eight out of 10 companies under the wing of the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries were from agencies headed by officials from higher government agencies under the ministry, while another 14 were CEOs of organizations under the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.

Officials also held top seats at six institutions under the Financial Services Commission, and in five companies run by the Ministry of Employment and Labor. They headed almost half the institutions operated by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and 14 out of 60 firms under the wing of economy-related agencies.

Many of these presidents hailed from political circles.

The former presidential chief of staff was found heading the Academy of Korean Studies, while the former head of the presidential steering committee was director of a scholarship foundation.

Another former Cheong Wa Dae staffer was head of a publicly run construction oversight committee, while yet another staff member who was on the presidential office’s new media team was head of the Korea Education and Research Information Service.

By Kim Ji-hyun (jemmie@heraldcorp.com)