(EDITORIAL from the Korea Herald on Dec. 20)

Mass resignations

Frustrated with the slow pace of the government's reform drive, President Lee
Myung-bak complained that some civil servants were still passive in enforcing
reforms.

Lee's remarks are widely taken to be a prelude to an extensive personnel
shakeup at ministries, aimed at removing high-ranking officials tardy in
instituting new policies. It would also pave the way for a Cabinet reshuffle
early next year.
Already seven high ranking officials from the Ministry of Education, Science and
Technology and three from the National Tax Service have offered to resign.
Yesterday, Grade 1 officials from the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries and the Prime Minister's Office submitted their resignations. The
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade is reported to have asked for resignation
of ten senior officials.
The Education Ministry has been an eyesore for the Lee administration. On many
occasions, the ministry has been criticized for not implementing the new
administration's education policy goals quickly enough.
Although the Blue House denied any hand in the matter, and the Education Ministry
said that the resignations were voluntary, few would find these claims credible.
Civil servants are guaranteed political neutrality. While ministers and vice
ministers are political appointments, civil servants are not. The Grade 1
officials who resigned are career civil servants with more than 20 years in the
civil service. It would be a loss of talent and expertise if high-ranking
officials resigned every time there is a change in government.
If the Blue House is unhappy with resistance to reform at the Education Ministry,
the minister and the vice minister should be held accountable for the reform
failure before Grade 1 officials are asked to assume responsibility. The minister
could face a challenge to his leadership within the ministry by lower-ranking
civil servants whose morale has been damaged.
Forced resignations following a regime change could also encourage civil servants
to toe the line. Such behavior will stifle creativity and result in a stagnant
bureaucracy.
Incompetent and complacent civil servants must be weeded out. However, mass
resignations are not the way to accomplish this. It may be simple to ax
high-ranking officials and replace them with like-minded civil servants, but the
damage to the morale in the civil service will take a long time to repair.
There is already talk of similar mass resignations at other ministries. Ministers
must motivate the civil servants to achieve the administration's policy goals,
not force them to resign just because they worked under the previous
administration.
(END)