Presidential Chief of Staff Lim Kwang-hyun urged staff at the presidential office to be willing to offer blunt advice in serving the president. He also called on the office to go beyond simply relaying the positions of government ministries and instead work out solutions to policy issues through active coordination.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Ahn Gui-ryeong said in a written briefing on the 19th that Lim made the remarks at a "conversation with staff" event held at the Yeongbingwan guest house of the presidential compound.
"I, too, started out as a presidential secretariat official," Lim said in his opening remarks, recalling his time working at the presidential office during the Roh Moo-hyun administration. Saying he intended to work closely with staff and communicate with them directly, he added: "Our only goal is the success of the Lee Jae-myung administration, and that is the path to improving people's lives. If we give it our all, we will certainly achieve it."
On the role of the presidential office, Lim said: "This is not a place that merely passes along the positions of ministries. It should be a place where state affairs come together, where various views are coordinated to make possible what seems impossible."
On how aides should conduct themselves, he said: "At times we must serve the president half a step ahead, at times half a step behind. We must be able to say what is right, without shying away from blunt advice."
He also stressed the importance of discipline in public service. "Fundamentally, all of us are public servants," he said. "We must be especially careful in our words and conduct, and there must be no slackening in our work."
The event also set aside time to hear suggestions from staff. Lim, who made the installation of an anonymous suggestion channel his first instruction after taking office, listened to employees' views on working methods and organizational management.
One staff member said they took pride in helping produce results at the presidential office and asked Lim to work to ensure that sense of pride could be sustained. Another urged his attention and support so that a wide range of voices from the field, including policy beneficiaries and experts, could be heard and reflected in policy.
The presidential office plans to set up online and offline communication channels through which anyone can freely offer opinions regardless of rank.