GOYANG — A gap in South Korea's rules has left local governments unable to verify the credentials of people they appoint to committees that oversee public funds worth nearly 10 billion won, with screening limited to documents applicants submit themselves. With no legal basis for local governments to check a candidate's career history or qualifications in advance, critics say the system needs to be fixed to ensure public decision-making bodies can be trusted.
According to the city of Goyang on the 16th, the municipal council recently criticized the weakness of advance screening in the selection of new appointed members to the Goyang Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Committee, which reviews an inter-Korean exchange and cooperation fund that stood at 9.97 billion won ($6.8 million) as of the end of last year.
The criticism followed the belated discovery that a person identified as A, who had previously been embroiled in disputes over a falsified career record and alleged fraud, had been appointed to the committee through an open recruitment process. A was also found to have a history of activity tied to the local government, including service on Goyang's social media reporting team.
The issue, however, stems less from an administrative failure by a particular local government or department than from a systemic limitation: under current law, there is no way to verify an applicant's false career claims or past record.
When local governments open committee seats to public application, applicants typically submit only an application form, a personal statement and a consent form for the collection of personal information. Documents such as employment certificates are requested only from certain applicants, and no procedure exists to independently check whether submitted documents are genuine or to search past records such as news reports.
Under current law, criminal record checks and background checks are also impossible without a clear legal basis, leaving officials dependent solely on documents applicants volunteer.
The absence of enabling legislation also blocks local governments from devising their own remedies. Even if a local government tried to enact an ordinance strengthening the vetting of committee members, doing so would conflict with laws such as the Personal Information Protection Act and the Resident Registration Act without delegated authority from higher-level legislation, making the ordinance itself impossible. The result is a structural gap in which members who handle public funds are selected on the assumption of individual good faith.
Goyang began follow-up measures as soon as the dispute surfaced.
"Going forward, when selecting members, we plan to send official letters to the institutions listed in applicants' career records to establish the facts clearly," a Goyang official said. "We are reviewing whether this falls under the grounds for dismissal set out in the ordinance and considering putting A's dismissal on the agenda."
Experts say the case should prompt the central government and the National Assembly to create a legal basis granting local government committees across the country real authority to verify members.
"Unless the National Assembly amends the relevant laws, there are clear limits to what local ordinances alone can verify," said Oh Young-sook, a member of the Goyang City Council. "Legislation that allows local governments to vet qualifications is urgently needed to secure public accountability."