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IAS officers in Jharkhand, harassment of people seeking information under RTI, need of experts in administration, cases withdrawn by CBI, incidents of disproportionate assets case, corruption cases against officers etc.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)

Reigning in bureaucrats is tough; Japan’s new regime backtracks on banning civil servants holding press meets

IF YOU are an Indian babu, you have reasons to cheer about. Reigning in bureaucrats is next to impossible, even globally. In fact, Japan’s new political party which made an electoral promise that it would curtail powers of bureaucrats in the country suffered a major setback in its first attempt to reign in bureaucrats. A few days after the country’s ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) announced a total ban on press briefings by bureaucrats, the government now backtracked and reportedly said that bureaucrats would now be allowed to hold news conferences with permission from their ministers, according to media reports published by Kyodo News which were given wide publicity by western media. According to reports, the ban, which was meant to empower cabinet ministers under the new government, resulted in cancellation of a number of news briefings by important bureaucrats such as Japan’s ambassador to US. But the government finally softened its stand and allowed bureaucrats to hold press meets once permission was obtained from cabinet ministers. All vice ministers of Japan’s ministries are, in fact, bureaucrats who are in a way equivalent to secretaries to government of India. Read Imagine secretary Pillai or Chawla debarred from briefing press; but new Japanese... (Sep 17, 2009) No high profile positions after retirement (Sep 3, 2009)

Check before you land up in airport; Air India strike continues despite PMO’s intervention If you are taking a flight for official reason, or even for LTC purpose in the next couple of days, you need to double-check whether your Air India flight will take off at all or not. The crisis in Air India was not resolved till Monday midnight as agitating pilots remained firm on their stand of no flying till the cut in their incentive pay package was revoked. The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) intervened on Monday night urging the civil aviation ministry to ensure “speedy resolution” of the crisis. The strike entered the third day on Monday, forcing cancellation of at least 14 flights. These directly impact bureaucrats as they have to travel through the national carrier alone. Read A spoilsport for bureaucrats’ vacation (Sep 26, 2009)

Imagine secretary Pillai or Chawla debarred from briefing press; but new Japanese govt bans bureaucrats holding press meets

IMAGINE home secretary G K Pillai being debarred from holding press meets, or finance secretary Ashok Chawla being told that you can’t brief the media on the budget or inflation! It may sound odd, but that’s precisely going to happen in Japan. In fact, Japan’s new government announced on Wednesday that it would stop holding news conferences by top bureaucrats because only elected representatives, not bureaucrats should represent the ministries. The newly appointed chief cabinet secretary said it after the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) Yukio Hatoyama took oath as Japan’s new Prime Minister. Mr Hatoyama’s team has former bureaucrats in it, but the government had already proclaimed that it would curtail the power of 3,60,000-strong Japanese civil servants. Significantly, former finance ministry bureaucrat Hirohisa Fujii is now the new finance minister. New foreign minister, Katsuya Okada, is a former bureaucrat. Naoto Kan, as the head of the new National Strategy Bureau, is however charged with wresting control of policy-making from the country’s powerful bureaucracy. Read “Japanese bureaucrats may no longer be able to practise age-old Amakudari; what’s about Indian retired babus?” posted on September 3, 2009. Minister S Jaipal Reddy wants bureaucrats to write books Urban development minister S Jaipal Reddy wants bureaucrats to write their rich experiences in book form as it was done by his secretary M Ramachandran. This is very much in line with the government’s recent decision to document books, articles, citations, and awards that an official has written or received, in Executive Record Sheets, or ER sheet --- the only publicly available document to track an officer’s career. Mr Reddy may or may not be aware of the recent DoPT circular, but speaking at a function of launch of urban development secretary’s book, “An Alternative Approach to Project Planning in Public Works – The Indian Context” in New Delhi on Tuesday, he encouraged civil servants to document their experiences by writing books. Read, “Government encourages IAS officers to take up writing seriously; medals and citations to count from now”, posted on July 22, 2009.