President Lee Jae-myung’s Cabinet is now in the making, and his office has introduced a “public referral system” to take recommendations for key positions from everyday people.
Calling it a move aimed at getting the people involved in the President’s personnel decisions, Lee’s office said it will be taking recommendations for Cabinet ministers, vice-ministers and heads of state-run institutions.
Recommendations can be sent to the official website run by the Ministry of Personnel Management, Lee’s official social media accounts or by e-mail.
“True democracy begins when citizens exercise their sovereignty, get involved and make a change,” Lee said in a Facebook post on June 10.
No specific restrictions are in place for South Koreans aged 14 or older submitting a recommendations.
Lee’s office will collect data on candidates submitted to the national database and proceed with a vetting process to form a shortlist of candidates – which will not involve citizen engagement.
The presidential office has not elaborated on whether the number of recommendations a candidate gets could affect the President’s decision-making.
Grassroots recommendations for holders of public office was among Lee’s campaign pledges unveiled in late May.
It was the latest move by the liberal President to get ordinary people involved in his decision-making process, as his administration has described itself as “the government of popular sovereignty”.
On June 8, Lee revealed via posts on X that a recent announcement of plans to broadcast reporters asking questions of officials of the presidential office live during briefings was based on “a proposal he received through a reply to his social media”. — The Korea Herald/ ANN
