There is controversy surrounding Joo Gi-hwan, a former presidential special advisor on people's livelihood and known to be a 20-year acquaintance of President Yoon Seok-yeol, who has been appointed as the full-time auditor of a joint asset management company with a salary exceeding 300 million won. When he was initially appointed as a special advisor on people's livelihood, there was already controversy regarding the creation of a position that did not previously exist. Just a month after stepping down from this advisory role, he has taken on another position unrelated to his career background. The company, which is a quasi-public enterprise, was established by eight banks including NongHyup and Shinhan Bank. The recently disclosed salary for the full-time auditor position is over 330 million won. Joo is known to have worked with President Yoon, who was a special prosecutor at the Gwangju District Prosecutor's Office, during his time as a prosecutor. After President Yoon's election, he served as a specialist member of the presidential transition committee. He attempted to run in the general elections last April but withdrew after expressing dissatisfaction when he received a low number on the proportional representation list.

The president created a new position for a special advisor on people's livelihoods just three days later and appointed a special advisor who has a background as a prosecutor and a presidential special advisor. This experience is unrelated to the main duties of the permanent auditor, which involve corporate restructuring and managing non-performing loans. The presidential office stated that the recommendation process will proceed according to established procedures regarding the background of the special advisor. This has led to interpretations that the president's connection with the advisor may have influenced the hiring. It is also reported that the son of the previous special advisor has been working in the presidential office since the beginning of the administration, having gone through President Yoon's election camp and the transition committee. This is not just about the former special advisor, as prosecutors who had connections with President Yoon during his time as a prosecutor are also taking up positions in state-owned enterprises, known for their prestigious roles. We have confirmed that there are several individuals in such positions.

Yoon Byeong-hyun, the auditor of the Korea Racing Authority, is a former prosecutor who has maintained a connection with President Yoon Seok-yeol for the past 30 years, dating back to the time when the president was a prosecutor. Do you know the president well on a personal level? Yes, I worked with him during my early days in the position. You are familiar with him from your time working together, right? Yes. Four years ago, Park Gong-woo, the former head of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, added his name to a letter opposing the disciplinary action against then-Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol. He took up the role of auditor at the Korea National Oil Corporation at the end of last year. Park Kyung-woo, the auditor at Seoul National University Hospital, is also a former prosecutor who worked in the Special Investigations Division of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. He has been involved in health and medical investigations, and at the time of his appointment two years ago, there were unusual evaluations within Seoul National University Hospital. Additionally, Kang Jin-goo, the auditor of Korea Gas Corporation; Kang Seong-sik, the auditor of the Korea Research Foundation; Kim Young-chang, the auditor of Korea Steel Pipe Corporation; and Hong Seong-won, the auditor of the Korea Environment Corporation, are all former prosecutors with connections to the president.

This is a greeting. The auditors of public institutions play a crucial role in overseeing and monitoring the heads of these organizations. Last year, the average annual salary exceeded 160 million won. While there are many benefits such as vehicle and secretary provisions, there is little external exposure, and the workload is not intense, leading to the position being referred to as a flower position. In these public institution audit roles, individuals with backgrounds as prosecutors, whose expertise has not been proven, are being appointed one after another. This is JTBC's report. Now, we will share the findings of our investigation into the parachute appointments under the Yoon Seok-yeol administration. 

First, regarding the auditors, they are indeed the next position after the head of the institution, but their role is not well known. We investigated all auditor appointments in public institutions during the first year of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, and among 206 candidates, 17 were from the presidential campaign or the administration. Like stealth fighters that do not show up on radar, parachute appointments are concentrated in these inconspicuous auditor positions.

First, we have reporter Kim Dong-hoon. This is the social media account of Mr. Park, who was appointed as a merchant auditor at the Small and Medium Business Administration in October last year. On his account, there are still photos of the appointment letter for a regional camp position received from President Yoon Seok-yeol, who was the candidate of the People Power Party during last year's presidential election, as well as campaign photos. According to the audit application obtained by JTBC, he emphasized that he made an active contribution to the birth of the Yoon Seok-yeol government through his dedicated efforts. The Small and Medium Business Administration manages policy support and nurturing funds, and the annual salary for a merchant auditor is around 240 million won. However, there are questions regarding whether Mr. Park's background was properly verified during the appointment process. Mr. Park, a former member of the Gyeongnam Provincial Assembly, has a record that raises doubts due to previous convictions. Although he claims to have operated a construction company, there is little evidence of expertise in small and medium enterprises.

I thought I had done an incredibly active job, and I have a professional background regarding my role in this government. The results of my efforts are now visible. However, I find it questionable that there are individuals from a certain background who lack expertise. This is not the only case. Last September, Lee Mo, the auditor of the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation, served as a proportional representative in the National Assembly for about a year under the People Power Party, which is the predecessor of the Saenuri Party. However, even before becoming a member of the National Assembly, he was involved with the party, and during his time as a legislator, he was only on the Planning and Finance Committee. There is hardly any record of his experience related to the Agricultural Cooperative. Both the Construction Mutual Aid Association and the Regional Southern Development Corporation are from the same camp, but again, there is no evidence of their expertise. There are many individuals among the non-executive directors on the board whose qualifications are questionable. We asked a few people who seem to have been parachuted into their positions.

Some people came here without even knowing what this place was for. There were institutions that were essentially just parachute executives. Continuing on, this is reporter Lee Ji-eun. We are at the Korea Transportation Safety Authority in Gimcheon, Gyeongsangbuk-do. Since the launch of the Yoon Seok-yeol government in May of last year, out of six non-executive directors, five are from the ruling party. This is the profile of Mr. Jeon, who was appointed in January of this year. He emphasized that he holds an important position as the general secretary of the Gimcheon City campaign for the candidate. He also flaunted his connections with local politicians. However, the sections for research and project achievements were left blank. The situation at the Small and Medium Business Corporation is no different. Mr. Song, who is from the Goseong County Council in Gyeongnam, highlighted his roles as the head of the local congressional election campaign and as a special advisor for the Yoon Seok-yeol candidate in the Gyeongnam region. However, his work experience related to small and medium enterprises was lacking; he admitted that he initially didn't know much and only heard about it, but once he got there, he realized...

There are indeed many of us. The non-executive directors from organizations such as Korea Electric Power Corporation and Korea Expressway Corporation include some who are affiliated with certain political circles and camps. Experts point out that the process of appointing non-executive directors should be transparently disclosed to prevent the appointment of individuals lacking expertise. There must be evaluation criteria included in the announcement, but if there is a predetermined candidate, then they can manipulate the selection process. Plans related to the job can be disclosed, though. This is Lee Ji-eun from JTBC.

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