President Lee Jae-myung Directs Appointment of Special Inspector

President Lee Jae-myung has reportedly instructed his aides to initiate the appointment of a Special Inspector to oversee the conduct of presidential relatives and close aides. This position was established during the Park Geun-hye administration in 2014 but has remained vacant since the resignation of the first inspector, Lee Seok-soo, in 2016, spanning over eight years through the administrations of Moon Jae-in and Yoon Suk-yeol.

During a recent meeting with his staff, President Lee emphasized the need for accountability, stating, "We all must be monitored." The Special Inspector's responsibilities include overseeing the president's spouse, relatives within the fourth degree of kinship, and senior officials at the level of chief secretary or higher within the presidential office.

The scope of the Special Inspector's oversight includes issues related to personnel, such as bribery, embezzlement of public funds, and illicit contracts with public enterprises and related organizations. The necessity for appointing a Special Inspector has been raised repeatedly in past administrations whenever misconduct involving presidential relatives or senior aides came to light, yet no appointments were made.

The Special Inspector, a position equivalent to a vice-minister, is appointed following a process where the National Assembly recommends three candidates, from which the president selects one, subject to a confirmation hearing. Although the president cannot appoint someone without the Assembly's recommendation, it is anticipated that the ruling Democratic Party will support the president's intent to appoint.

The appointment of a Special Inspector was part of President Lee's campaign promises, where he pledged to enhance oversight of presidential relatives and ensure the immediate appointment of the inspector with substantial authority.

The Special Inspector role was introduced in 2014 under a law passed by the Democratic Party. However, the only appointment made was that of Lee Seok-soo in 2015, who resigned in September 2016 amid a controversy over the leak of an investigation into former Chief of Staff Woo Byung-woo. Following this, neither the Moon nor Yoon administrations appointed a Special Inspector, leaving the position unfilled for over eight years. The law stipulates that a successor must be appointed within 30 days if the position becomes vacant, but this has not been adhered to.

Former President Moon Jae-in requested candidate recommendations from the National Assembly shortly after taking office in May 2017, but disagreements between the ruling and opposition parties prevented any recommendations from being made. The Democratic Party, then in power, argued for the establishment of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (공수처) instead of appointing a Special Inspector, claiming that the new office could fulfill the inspector's role. However, critics pointed out the distinct differences between the preventive oversight role of the Special Inspector and the investigative function of the Corruption Investigation Office.

Former President Yoon Suk-yeol also promised to appoint a Special Inspector, stating he would fully accept any candidates recommended by the National Assembly. However, the ruling People Power Party suggested linking the appointment to the selection of board members for the North Korean Human Rights Foundation, leading to a stalemate as the Democratic Party opposed this. In October of last year, then-Representative Han Dong-hoon of the People Power Party announced plans to proceed with the recommendation process, but internal conflicts stalled progress. Reports suggest that former President Yoon lacked the will to appoint a Special Inspector.

Despite the lack of appointments, nearly 1 billion won has been allocated annually for office rent and personnel costs associated with the Special Inspector's office, leading to criticisms of budget waste and calls for the normalization of the position.

President Lee's recent directive to initiate the appointment process is seen as an effort to differentiate his administration from previous ones. However, it remains to be seen whether this will lead to an actual appointment.