Former Jincheon County Governor Song Gi-seop Approved for Korea Water Resources Corporation Presidency; Former Vice Minister Choi Nam-ho Heads to Samsung

[Financial News]  
Song Gi-seop, former governor of Jincheon County, North Chungcheong Province, was approved for employment as president of the Korea Water Resources Corporation.
Choi Nam-ho, former second vice minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, will also become a full-time adviser at Samsung Global Research. In August, Choi received an employment restriction decision in a review assessing the connection between his duties before retirement and the company where he planned to work. This time, however, he passed an employment approval review, which assesses whether there are grounds for approval under the law.
According to the “Results of the October 2026 Post-Retirement Employment Review for Former Public Officials,” released on the 29th by the Ministry of Personnel Management, the Government Public Service Ethics
Committee reviewed 88 post-retirement employment cases on the 21st. Four were subject to employment restrictions, and seven were denied approval for employment. In all, 11 cases, or 12.5% of the total reviewed, did not pass the employment screening.
Song, the former county governor, headed the National Agency for Administrative City Construction before serving three terms as governor of Jincheon County. The Government Public Service Ethics Committee recognized grounds for approval under Article 34, Paragraph 3, Item 8 of the Enforcement Decree of the Public Service Ethics Act. 
After retiring in June last year, Choi sought a position as a full-time adviser at Samsung Global Research. He is scheduled to start the job this November.
In August, Choi received an employment restriction decision in a review determining whether he was subject to such restrictions, after a close connection was found between his duties before retirement and the company where he planned to work. This time, he was recognized as having grounds for employment approval under Article 34, Paragraph 3, Items 8 and 9 of the Enforcement Decree of the Public Service Ethics Act.
The review to determine whether a person is subject to employment restrictions and the employment approval review are separate processes. The former assesses whether there is a close connection between the work of a department or agency where the person served during the five years before retirement and the institution where they plan to work. The latter allows employment if special grounds specified by law are recognized, even when the work is related. The committee did not disclose the specific reasoning behind its review of Choi.
A determination was also made that senior officials from the Presidential Office could take jobs at private companies.
A senior civil servant in a special-service post at the Presidential Secretariat who retired in August was deemed eligible to work as an adviser at Shin & Kim. A special-service civil servant at the Presidential Secretariat equivalent to Grade 3, who retired in June last year, was also deemed eligible to work as a senior public relations manager at 42dot.
A former Korea Coast Guard (KCG) Senior Superintendent General who retired in June last year was approved for a position as a standing adviser at Yulchon LLC. A former political appointee at the Office for Government Policy Coordination was deemed eligible to work as an adviser at LG Management Development Institute, while a former senior civil servant in a special-service post at the Prime Minister’s Secretariat was deemed eligible to serve as an outside director at Tmoney.
A former senior civil servant at the Ministry of Science and ICT was approved for employment as president of the Telecommunications Technology Association (TTA), while a former senior civil servant at the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment was approved to become a full-time vice chairman of the Korea Independent Power Producers Association. A former senior civil servant at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety was also approved for employment as president of the Sejong City Facilities Management Corporation.
Meanwhile, some former senior public officials were denied jobs at public institutions and law firms.
A former Daegu Metropolitan City Grade 3 local government official who retired in September was denied a position as president of the Daegu Public Facilities Management Corporation. Two former local political appointees at the Daegu Metropolitan Council who retired in June were also denied approval for jobs as head of the Management and Safety Division at Daegu Transportation Corporation and standing vice chairman of the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Textile Industries Association, respectively.
A former political appointee at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs was denied a position as a part-time adviser at JIPYONG LLC. The appointment of a former local political appointee at the Chungnam Provincial Council as standing auditor at Korea Midland Power was also denied, as was a former Grade 4 official at the National Tax Service’s appointment as a tax research fellow at Taesung Accounting Corporation. A former executive at the Korea Maritime Dangerous Goods Inspection and Research Institute was likewise denied approval to work as a port commissioner at the Busan Port Authority.
By contrast, a former local political appointee at the Gyeonggi Provincial Council was approved for a position as a standing director at Yangpyeong Corporation.
In employment reviews, “eligible for employment” means a determination that there is no close connection between a person’s duties before retirement and the institution where they plan to work. “Employment approval” means that employment is permitted because special grounds set out in law have been recognized, even if the work is related.
The Government Public Service Ethics Committee asked the competent courts to impose administrative fines in five cases involving people who took jobs on their own without undergoing a prior employment review.
[email protected] Lee Bomi Reporter