One year left in his tenure… Eyes in line with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs audit
Hong Hyeon-ik, director of the Foreign Affairs Office, who was appointed during the Moon administration, was also an auditor at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Moon Jeong-in, Chairman of the Sejong Foundation. Reporter Park Jong-shik anaki@hani.co.kr
Moon Jeong-in (72), chairman of the Sejong Foundation, to which the Sejong Institute, a leading foreign affairs and security research institute in Korea, belongs, has decided to resign. Summarizing the explanations inside and outside the Sejong Institute on the 28th, Chairman Moon announced his intention to resign voluntarily at an internal meeting attended by executives and research members the day before. Chairman Moon, who served as the “President’s Unification, Diplomacy, and Security Special Advisor” during the Moon Jae-in administration, took office as the 14th Chairman of the Sejong Foundation in February 2021, and has regarding a year left in his term. Following Chairman Moon’s resignation, the foundation decided to hold a board meeting on March 14 and elect a successor chairman. However, due to the long vacancy of his board, it is known that Chairman Moon will retain his position until the board of directors to fill the quorum. The foundation recommended four new directors in October of last year as the existing directors’ terms of office expired, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reportedly been delaying the appointments. Chairman Moon’s sudden expression of resignation draws attention as it coincides with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ appreciation for the foundation. The Office of the Inspector General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs conducted an on-site audit of the foundation on the 21st and 24th. The focus of the audit is the budget and operational status of the one-year national strategy training course that the Sejong Institute has been conducting since 1995 for high-ranking public officials in each ministry and local government. It is known that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs finished the actual audit in four days, which was initially scheduled for one week. Previously, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs conducted an audit of the foundation in July of last year. It is evaluated that it is unusual to conduct a second audit once morest the same agency in just over seven months. Since the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, the Sejong Institute has reportedly been struggling with a drastic reduction in government-ordered research services. This is the reason why there is a saying within the foundation that “they expressed their gratitude in response to the continued pressure from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.” Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that Hong Hyun-ik, head of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, who was also appointed during the Moon Jae-in administration, is also being audited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “A partial audit was conducted in December of last year, and there were restrictions on some of Director Hong’s work. So far, the director’s duties are being carried out normally,” he said. “After the audit process is completed, we will disclose the contents at an appropriate time.” Director Hong, who took office in August 2021, has regarding six months left in his term. Reporter Jeong In-hwan inhwan@hani.co.kr
