POSCO has decided to hire a veteran industrial bureaucrat to handleits relations with the government, a move seen as challenging Park’s anti-corruption drive of banning ranking state officials from working for major companies

June 12, 2014 Leave a comment

Updated : 2014-06-03 18:34

POSCO challenges gov’t anti-corruption drive

By Park Si-soo

POSCO has decided to hire a veteran industrial bureaucrat to handleits relations with the government, a move seen as challengingPresident Park Geun-hye’s anti-corruption drive of banning ranking state officials from working for major companies after retirement. 
What’s more problematic is that the Ministry of Security and PublicAdministration (MOSPA), which is responsible for implementing the anti-corruption measure, gave the bureaucrat the green light to work at thecountry’s biggest steel maker.
It was confirmed Tuesday that the official, who recently retired asdirector at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, clearedMOSPA’s examination on the ethical appropriateness of his move toPOSCO.
“There is no problem for him working at POSCO as he passed theexamination,” said a MOSPA official familiar with the case.
Surnamed Chung, the former official in question is known to have dealtwith issues related to regional economic affairs in recent years. It’sunclear how deeply he was involved in steel industry-related issues.The Korea Times contacted MOSPA’s ethics division in charge of theexamination several times for comment, but it didn’t answer.
“It’s true that POSCO has looked for an expert who will deal withgovernment issues. But at the moment the bureaucrat’s employmenthas not yet been finalized,” a POSCO spokesman said, distancing thecompany from the brewing scandal.
The MOSPA official said POSCO’s claim doesn’t make sense. “Anethics division’s examination is only carried out on those who havefound an employer determined to hire them.”
President Park has pledged to tighten regulations to make it moredifficult for outgoing bureaucrats to work at companies, for which theycould wield influence with their former colleagues in the government.Unlawful lobbying of government officials and politicians has long beenconsidered one of the major causes of corruption and other illegalities.
Under the regulations regarding post-retirement careers for publicofficials, during the first two years after retirement, they are bannedfrom working at companies whose core business overlaps with issuesthey handled during their last five years in office.

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