Revolutionizing the way of recruiting people

The opposite performance in the U.S. and Korean stock markets is a reality check on what we lack.

U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has tapped tech billionaire Elon Musk to head a new government agency aimed to rationalize federal spending and regulations. The so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) bears an acronym winking at the dog-themed digital coin whose value soared through Musk’s pitches. Whether the new entity will exist within the federal government or whether it’ll be managed as an independent body is not clear.

Trump claims the new commission will “provide advice and guidance from outside of government” to the Executive Office of the President and work closely with the Office of Management and Budget to bring about unprecedented reforms through the eyes of entrepreneurs. Musk with a proven knack for cutting spending and employees claims that as much as $2 trillion, or one third of annual federal spending, could be saved under his reign.

The idea of making an entrepreneur the czar of government restructuring is refreshing — and in tune with Trump’s defiance of political traditions to get things done. His appointment can only stoke envy in Korea, as the non-government chair post of the Regulation Reform Committee — a council advising the president on overregulation — had been reserved for professors or former government officials since its establishment in 1998.

The U.S. stock market has been on a roll since Trump’s victory with high hopes on the lifting of regulations. Trump said he would eliminate 10 regulations for every new one.

In the new economic policy blueprint after President Yoon Suk Yeol took office in 2022, the government promised to employ a “one-in, two-out” policy to reduce two regulations when creating a new one. But whether the principle is being kept cannot be certain. Regulations have in fact enlarged as they have been mostly created by the legislature. According to a civilian watchdog on regulations, of 4,503 bills enacted by the 22nd National Assembly during its first five months, about 30 percent were related to regulations, doubling the number of regulations passed by the 21st legislature in its first five months.

Companies and their stocks can hardly fly under the heavy load of regulations stifling corporate activities. We also watch with envy how Trump rolls along with key office placements before his term starts in January. We are yet to launch the Population Strategy Planning Department despite bipartisan support. A bill to amend the Government Organization Act to create a population policy agency has yet to reach the standing committee. The government could not appropriate the budget for the new agency due to the delay. The opposite performance in the U.S. and Korean stock markets is a reality check on what we lack.