'Improper actions of public officials hurt the people,' says the president

'Improper actions of public officials hurt the people,' says the president. September. 26, 2016 07:09. by 송찬욱 기자song@donga.com.

President Park Geun-hye said Saturday that the recent cases of corruption and improper actions and arguments left scars and affected public opinion negatively. It seemed that the president started tightening discipline of public officials as she felt the negative publicity generated by the recent improper actions and statements of some high level officials as well as corruption in the judiciary.

“The environment surrounding government officials is changing rapidly, and practices and work process have now become subjects to criticism," President Park told the 2016 workshop of ministers and vice ministers. "Unlike the past, the public is paying more attention to our every move and criticism is harsh as they expect us more.”

Although the president didn’t comment certain names, her statement is interpreted as a warning to government officials involved in wrongdoings, including senior prosecutor Jin Kyung-jun, who is well known for his controversial stock market jackpot, chief prosecutor Kim Hyeong-jun, who is suspected of receiving kickbacks from a businessman, former Education Ministry policy planning director Na Hyang-wook, who got dismissed after saying 99 percent of his countrymen are “like dogs and pigs.” Some argued that the president particularly wanted to warn Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Minister Kim Jae-soo who posted that he was surely ignored because he was born and raised in a rural area, and graduated from a local university on the social media after his confirmation hearing in the National Assembly, raising unnecessary misunderstandings. Minister Kim also attended the workshop.