South Korea: How new presidents appoint ministers
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Photo by Jens-Olaf Walter.
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Park Guen-hye was the winner of yesterday’s South Korean presidential election. One of her next challenges, following her inauguration in February, will be appointing ministers in the new government. In an article published online by Governance this week, Sung Deuk Hahm, Kwangho Jung, and Sam Youl Lee examine patterns in the appointment of ministers between 1980 and 2008. The shift toward a democratic presidency has been accompanied by a shift away from technocratic ministerial appointments. But presidents now have a habit of shuffling ministers too frequently. The average ministerial appointment is now only one year — not long enough for ministers to counter the power of career bureaucrats. Free access to the article.
