Cheong Wa Dae carried out its first large-scale promotion since the launch of the Lee Jae Myung administration, rewarding staff who delivered results as the presidency enters its second year.
A Cheong Wa Dae official said Thursday that 68 staff members had recently been promoted, calling it the largest such personnel action since President Lee took office.
The official said the timing reflected a backlog in promotions. "Since the president took office, we had not yet conducted a comprehensive promotion review," the official said. "We focused on those who had produced results and those who had met the required years of service for promotion."
Cheong Wa Dae held an all-staff meeting chaired by Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik on Thursday, July 23, and announced the promotions the following day, Friday, July 24. The reshuffle covered career civil servants — known informally as "neulgong," or permanent civil servants — as well as political appointees referred to as "eogong," or accidental civil servants, along with regular civil servants seconded from various ministries and special-grade civil servants.
Ahead of the reshuffle, Cheong Wa Dae asked staff in May to submit written accounts of their three greatest accomplishments. Those submissions are believed to have influenced the outcome — a reflection of President Lee's view that strong performance should be met with clear rewards.
The promotions were also shaped by a cascade of personnel shifts that followed last month's replacement of senior aides, including public communications secretary Seong Gi-hong, civil affairs secretary Han Chan-sik, social affairs secretary Kim Gyeong-ja and first deputy national security adviser Kang Geon-jak.
Cheong Wa Dae plans to conduct promotion reviews on a regular basis going forward. Previous administrations have similarly timed promotions to mark the first anniversary of a president's inauguration, senior staff reshuffles or cabinet reorganizations.
Meanwhile, as of the end of July, the Presidential Secretariat — excluding the National Security Office — employs about 360 staff, up roughly 100 from about 260 last September. Cheong Wa Dae launched without a presidential transition committee and was unable to complete its hiring process at the outset, but has gradually expanded its workforce in the months since.
moone@heraldcorp.com
