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🚨 Presidential Transition Committee: Key Organization for Designing New Government Operations

Today Korean Social News | 2025.06.16

📌 Lee Jae-myung Government's Transition Committee Launches…Chairman Lee Han-ju Under Real Estate Scandal

💬 Lee Jae-myung government's Presidential Transition Committee was launched on the 16th. This committee is responsible for establishing the national direction and organizational reform plan for the next 5 years. It attempted to differentiate itself from the previous government by emphasizing social areas and actively incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) into economic sectors. However, controversy has arisen as allegations related to past real estate transactions of Chairman Lee Han-ju, director of the Democratic Research Institute, have been raised. The committee consists of 8 subcommittees with experts from each field participating, and is scheduled to operate for about 2 months.

Summary

  • The Presidential Transition Committee is a temporary organization that sets the national philosophy and policy direction of the new government.
  • It handles key tasks such as government organizational reform, selection of national tasks, and handover procedures.
  • It operates for about 2-3 months during government transitions and oversees preparation work for the new government's launch.

1️⃣ Definition

Presidential Transition Committee means a temporary organization where the president-elect sets the national philosophy, vision, and policy direction of the new government and prepares for government organizational reforms. Simply put, it can be called the 'design team' where the newly elected president creates a 5-year national operation plan before taking office.

This is an institutional mechanism to ensure the stability of government transitions and secure policy continuity for the new government.

💡 Why is it important?

  • It prepares the blueprint for the new government's 5-year national operations.
  • It minimizes administrative gaps during government transitions.
  • It handles the work of implementing election promises into specific policies.
  • It increases administrative efficiency through government organizational reforms.

2️⃣ Main Roles and Structure of the Presidential Transition Committee

📕 Core Tasks and Functions

  • The Presidential Transition Committee handles various core tasks. The main tasks are as follows:

    • Establishing the new government's national philosophy and vision: Setting the national tone and direction to be pursued for the next 5 years.
    • Discovering and selecting national tasks: Creating specific policy tasks based on election promises and setting priorities.
    • Preparing government organizational reform plans: Reviewing the establishment, merger, and functional adjustment of ministries according to the new government's policy goals.
    • Establishing implementation plans for major policies: Preparing specific promotion schedules and methods for key campaign promises.
    • Overall management of handover tasks: Managing procedures for smooth task handover from the previous government.
  • Professional review is conducted through subcommittees. The main subcommittees are as follows:

    • Political Administration Subcommittee: Handles political reform, public sector innovation, decentralization, etc.
    • Economic Subcommittee: Reviews economic policy, industry development, financial reform, etc.
    • Social Subcommittee: Deals with welfare policy, education reform, healthcare, etc.
    • Unification and Diplomacy Subcommittee: Establishes North Korea policy, diplomatic security strategy, etc.
    • Culture and Environment Subcommittee: Reviews cultural policy, environmental protection, energy policy, etc.
    • Generally consists of 5-8 subcommittees, adjusted according to focus areas by each government.

📕 Operating Methods and Procedures

  • The Presidential Transition Committee operates with systematic procedures. The main operating methods are as follows:

    • Operating period: Operates for about 2-3 months from the confirmation of presidential election until the launch of the new government.
    • Committee composition: Consists of about 30-50 experts from various fields, including the chairman.
    • Meeting format: Combines plenary sessions and subcommittee meetings, conducting consultations with relevant ministries when necessary.
    • Decision-making: Bottom-up decision-making structure where final decisions are made in plenary sessions after subcommittee reviews.
  • Operation emphasizing transparency and openness is important. The main operating principles are as follows:

    • Collecting public opinions: Actively reflecting public opinions through online platforms, public hearings, etc.
    • Information disclosure: Disclosing major meeting results and policy directions to the media and the public.
    • Securing expertise: Actively involving experts in relevant fields to enhance policy effectiveness.
    • Political neutrality: Establishing policies from a national perspective beyond partisan interests.

Major Issues of the Presidential Transition Committee

  1. Political bias: Concerns about lack of objectivity as it consists only of the president-elect's personnel
  2. Feasibility: Problems where practicality may be lacking due to focus on ideal planning
  3. Time constraints: Limitations in reviewing all policies within the short period of 2-3 months
  4. Personnel verification: Concerns about insufficient verification of committee members' qualifications and morality
  5. Continuity issues: Possibility of weakened policy promotion momentum after committee dissolution

3️⃣ Cases and Achievements of Past Presidential Transition Committees

✅ Operation of Presidential Transition Committees by Major Governments

  • Each past government operated distinctive Presidential Transition Committees. Major cases are as follows:

    • Kim Dae-jung Administration (1998): The 'Government of the People' Presidential Transition Committee set overcoming economic crisis and consolidating democracy as core tasks.
    • Roh Moo-hyun Administration (2003): The 'Participatory Government' Presidential Transition Committee planned innovative policies such as power agency reform and Northeast Asia balancer theory.
    • Lee Myung-bak Administration (2008): The 'Pragmatic Government' Presidential Transition Committee established economy-centered policies such as reviving the economy and the Korean Peninsula Grand Canal.
    • Park Geun-hye Administration (2013): The 'New Era of Hope' Presidential Transition Committee selected creative economy and cultural prosperity as core tasks.
    • Moon Jae-in Administration (2017): The 'National Planning Advisory Committee' set inheriting the candlelight revolution spirit and clearing accumulated evils as major directions.
  • Each government's characteristics were reflected in national planning. Major features are as follows:

    • Reflecting issues of the times: Core issues of each era (economic crisis, democratization, globalization, etc.) were reflected in policy priorities.
    • Implementing presidential philosophy: Each president-elect's political orientation and values permeated throughout national affairs.
    • Materializing campaign promises: Promises presented during elections were materialized into feasible policies.
    • Organizational reform: Government organizations were reorganized according to new government policy goals.

✅ Achievements and Limitations

  • There are major achievements of Presidential Transition Committees. Positive evaluations are as follows:

    • Securing government transition stability: Minimized confusion in the early days of new government launch and established systematic policy promotion foundation.
    • Improving policy expertise: Enhanced qualitative level of policies through participation of experts from each field.
    • Reflecting public opinions: Reflected public opinions in policies through various communication channels.
    • Government organizational efficiency: Improved administrative efficiency through government organizational reform suitable for changing times.
  • Limitations and improvement tasks are also pointed out. Major limitations are as follows:

    • Excessive policy planning: Policies that did not fully consider feasibility within the term were sometimes included.
    • Political bias: Cases where objectivity and balance were lacking due to composition centered on president-elect's personnel.
    • Weakened promotion momentum: Cases where policies were changed differently from original plans during the policy promotion process after committee dissolution.
    • Insufficient personnel verification: Cases where morality or qualification problems of some committee members emerged later were repeated.

🔎 Government Transition

  • Government transition is a core process of democracy where ruling forces change through elections.
  • Government transition means the change of ruling party or forces according to election results. This is an important political process meaning peaceful transfer of power in democratic countries. Government transition includes comprehensive changes in national philosophy, policy direction, and personnel system beyond simply changing the president.
  • Major characteristics of government transition include first, peaceful power transfer conducted according to legal procedures rather than violence or coercion. Second, balance between policy continuity and change by distinguishing what to maintain and what to change among existing policies. Third, minimizing administrative gaps through handover processes. Fourth, presenting new political leadership and vision.
  • Government transition is also an indicator showing the soundness of democracy. It serves as a driving force that checks the arbitrariness of ruling forces, reflects public will in politics, and leads political development. The Presidential Transition Committee is an important institutional mechanism that ensures stability and expertise in this government transition process.

🔎 National Tasks

  • National tasks are major policy goals and implementation plans that the government intends to pursue during its term.
  • National tasks mean systematically organizing policy goals and detailed implementation plans that the new government will focus on promoting during its term. They are established based on election promises while comprehensively considering realistic conditions and national tasks. They generally consist of 5 major national goals, 20 strategies, and 100-200 detailed tasks.
  • Major contents of national tasks include first, national philosophy and vision presenting values and long-term goals that the government pursues. Second, 5 major national goals setting objectives by major fields such as economy, society, politics, culture, and unification diplomacy. Third, strategies and tasks specifying concrete promotion strategies and detailed implementation tasks for achieving goals. Fourth, promotion schedules and budgets planning promotion timing and required resources for each task.
  • National tasks serve as a compass for government policy promotion and become standards for securing consistency and systematicity in national operations. They are also public promises that allow citizens to understand and evaluate government policies. However, they may be adjusted when necessary according to rapidly changing domestic and international conditions.

🔎 Government Organization Act

  • The Government Organization Act is a law that regulates the establishment, authority, and functions of government ministries.
  • The Government Organization Act means a law that regulates the organizational composition of the central government and the authority, functions, and jurisdictional tasks of each ministry. It provides the basic framework for government organization and serves as the legal basis for efficient operation of the executive branch. It is often revised for ministry establishment, merger, and functional adjustment according to policy directions when new governments are launched.
  • Major contents of the Government Organization Act include first, basis for ministry establishment specifying which ministries to establish. Second, jurisdictional tasks by ministry distinguishing policy areas that each ministry will handle. Third, organizational composition regulating organizational systems such as ministers, vice ministers, bureaus, departments, and divisions. Fourth, matters concerning establishment and operation of subsidiary organizations such as committees.
  • Government Organization Act revision is one of the important tasks of the Presidential Transition Committee. The purpose is to enhance policy promotion efficiency by reorganizing organizations according to the new government's policy priorities. However, careful approach is needed so that organizational reform does not cause administrative confusion or lead to budget waste, and checks and balances are achieved through National Assembly deliberation.

5️⃣ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Are the decisions of the Presidential Transition Committee necessarily implemented?

A: Not all decisions of the Presidential Transition Committee are implemented as they are. The committee plays the role of 'planning' the new government's policy direction and national tasks, while actual implementation is handled by each ministry after government launch. Therefore, plans established by the committee are often modified or supplemented during the implementation process. Particularly, policies that require budget securing, National Assembly consent, and social consensus may differ from original plans. Also, policy priorities may be adjusted according to changes in domestic and international conditions during the term. For example, if economic crises, natural disasters, or changes in international situations occur, existing plans may need to be modified. However, core campaign promises confirmed by the Presidential Transition Committee are efforts by the government to implement them as much as possible, and these are also promises to the people. What's important is consistency and responsibility in the implementation process as much as plan establishment.

Q: Why are new government organizational reforms repeatedly implemented?

A: There are several reasons why government organizational reforms are repeated. First, to reflect new government policy priorities. Since each government has different policy areas to focus on promoting, organizational systems that can effectively promote these are needed. For example, the Ministry of Unification, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, and Ministry of SMEs and Startups were established according to policy demands at specific times. Second, to enhance administrative efficiency. The purpose is to integrate ministries with similar functions or gather scattered tasks into one to eliminate duplication and strengthen collaboration. Third, to respond to changing times. When new policy demands arise according to scientific and technological development, social structure changes, and international environmental changes, organizations to handle these are needed. However, too frequent organizational reforms can cause administrative confusion and budget waste, requiring careful approach. Actually, some point out that achieving purposes through functional adjustment or collaboration system strengthening within existing organizations rather than organizational reform may be more efficient.

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