[Editorial] Never-ending appointment fiascoes

Han is a poor choice in terms of political neutrality and expertise.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare has named a former prosecutor and lawyer Han Seok-hoon as a full-time executive member to the National Pension Service (NPS) Investment Management. Han retired as a senior prosecutor and taught at SungKyunKwan University Law School. The opposition front strongly protested the nomination. The Democratic Party (DP) pointed out that Han argued for the invalidity of the impeachment for former president Park Geun-hye and questioned the will of the government on pension reform when it disregards the independence and professionalism of the fund management.

In a press release, the ministry defended the nomination as being legally valid. Han was recommended by the “employers” group under the NPS Act. A person is qualified for the job if he or she has more than five years in the legal field even without expertise in fund or finance management. But that alone does not explain why Han is fit for the job.

The pension fund’s standing executive member is required of high-level political neutrality. The NPS manages assets of 890 trillion won ($684 billion) as of the end of last year. It is responsible for the entire population’s old-age comforts and therefore must not be tilted towards to a certain political group. Han’s political bias has become clear after he advocated for Park. In his book, he criticized the “hasty impeachment” as “unjust and irresponsibly.” He disagreed that Park abused her power to back the selfish interests of Choi Soon-sil. Everybody is free to express their political opinion. But the yardstick should be different for a government employee.

The NPS wields power over major listing companies as the largest or second largest shareholder. Therefore, the NPS should be as prudent as possible in exercising its voting power without any political influence. Han also has no experience in the capital or financial sector.

The government’s appointment system requires a reexamination. Chung Sun-sin withdrew himself from the appointment as the chief of the National Office of Investigation in the police after the former prosecutor’s son was accused of school bullying and violence. The opposition is raising its criticism about the government turning into a “republic of prosecutors” under the prosecutor-general-turned president.

It is not right to oppose an appointment just because one formerly worked as a prosecutor. But there is a place reserved for a legal or financial expert. Han is a poor choice in terms of political neutrality and expertise.