Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Retired Korean bureaucrats spotted for grabbing plum posts without reporting to authority

A NUMBER of South Korean bureaucrats have come under fire for grabbing plum private sector jobs post-retirement without reporting it to the Public Service Ethics Committee. The news is significant in the backdrop of neighbouring Japan's ruling party Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) pledging to end the practice of Amakudari, meaning “descent from heaven” under which Japanese senior bureaucrats take up high-profile positions in the private and public sectors after retirement. As BoI (Babus of India) had reported earlier, the practice is increasingly viewed as corrupt as former officials might have given preferential treatment to their would-be employers in securing key government contracts. Of 12,726 bureaucrats who retired between 2006 and 2008, 68 have worked for large companies without reporting it to the Public Service Ethics Committee, Korea Times said in a report. Some of these former policy makers served in the ministries of information and communication, construction and transportation, gender equality and family and defense, the report said. Significantly, former Korean Prime Minister Han Seung-soo now serves as a senior advisor for Kim and Chang, the country's largest law firm. Disclaimer: The picture above is symbolic, and does not show the bureaucrats in question. Also Read: Japanese bureaucrats may no longer be able to practise Amakudari; what’s about Indian retired babus? (September 3, 2009) Retired Korean bureaucrats clinch high paying bank jobs (June 10, 2009) Questions on Jharkhand IAS admitted in Rajya Sabha The list of questions that was admitted for Rajya Sabha dated November 26, included ones related to IAS officers in Jharkhand, harassment of people seeking information under RTI, need of experts in administration, cases withdrawn by CBI, incidents of disproportionate assets case, corruption cases against officers etc. Watch out for BoI posts to spot government's official stand on those issues as the ministers will reply to each of these tricky questions. Also Read: Netagiri vs Babudom: MPs to question on bureaucrats' asset disclosure (November 20, 2009)

1 comment:

  1. Why do you stick only to Japanese and Korean bureaucrats? What's about babus from US, UK and other Western countries? What's about administrative reforms in European nations or in US?

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