| |
| |
 |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
SEOUL, South Korea: The recent case of nepotism by South Korea's Foreign Minister Yu Myung Hwan has infuriated South Koreans.
Foreign Minister Yu has resigned and his daughter, who applied for a job at the ministry, has also decided not to take up the position.
But that has not calmed anger in the country especially since it came after President Lee Myung Bak's call for a fair society during his speech in mid-August when celebrating Korea's liberation from Japan's colonial rule.
"A fair society, more than anything else, constitutes the ethical and practical infrastructure for the advancement of the Republic. I will redouble my endeavours to make sure that the principles needed to build a fair society are well observed in all sectors of the nation," Lee said in his speech.
To keep that promise, Lee accepted the resignations from his nominees for the post of prime minister and two other cabinet members late August as they were deemed unfit to take up the positions for ethical reasons
But South Koreans are now calling foul following news that the foreign ministry violated regulations and gave special favours to the daughter of Foreign Minister Yu.
Students studying for the goshi or higher exams are particularly angry.
For most of them, there is no other way to get into the ministry except by passing tough state exams, which many of them spend years preparing for.
These are usually students who have graduated from the top universities in South Korea and are preparing for one more exam conducted only once every year to enter the civil service and the foreign ministry or become lawyers.
Lee Seung Woo, a student, said: "Right now, all I'm doing is studying hard. It's really depressing and makes me not want to study because of all this. I think stern punishment should be given and ensure that this kind of incident does not happen again."
According to recent data, two out of five diplomats recruited through Foreign Service exams from 1997 to 2003 were children of senior foreign ministry officials.
Hong Jung Wook, a ruling party lawmaker, said: "If the children of diplomats have the right knowledge and language skills, there is no reason to discriminate them. However, it's hard to believe and accept the fact that more than 40 per cent of diplomats hired were children of high-ranking government officials.
"And For President Lee, it's not just a matter of who will take over as foreign minister. It goes much deeper than that as his call for a fair society has collapsed before it even started. It remains to be seen how and if he will try to regain the trust of the Korean people." - CNA/fa
|
