[2026 Parliamentary Audit] All 43 Former FSS Officials' Law Firm Job Applications Approved... 90.7% of Senior Officials Too

All 43 reviews of applications by former Financial Supervisory Service officials to take jobs at law firms from 2023 through July this year were approved, according to data. Moves to law firms by senior officials, including political appointees, senior civil servants and executives of public institutions, were also allowed in roughly nine out of every 10 cases.

According to a report on employment reviews for former public officials submitted by the Ministry of Personnel Management to Assemblyman Park Jeong-hyun of the Democratic Party of Korea on October 8, 291 of the 397 reviews of applications to work at law firms from 2023 through July this year (73.3%) resulted in a finding of “eligible for employment” or “employment approved.” There were 62 cases in which employment was restricted and 44 in which employment was not approved.

All 43 applicants who had worked at the Financial Supervisory Service were found “eligible for employment.” All cases passed each year: 14 in 2023, seven in 2024, 12 last year and 10 through July this year. Of these, 41 involved moves to one of the six largest law firms, with Kim & Chang accounting for the largest number at 14.

Among senior officials, 78 of 86 cases (90.7%) were approved. In particular, senior officials accounted for 41 of the 71 cases (57.7%) granted “employment approval,” an exceptional authorization given even when a work-related connection is recognized. Employment approval accounted for 52.6% of successful cases involving senior officials, 3.7 times the 14.1% share among other former officials.

Among senior officials reviewed for employment at the six largest law firms, 38 of 43 cases (88.4%) were approved, and 22 of those (57.9%) received employment approval. Of the former senior officials who took jobs at law firms, 65—or 75.6%—held advisory positions, including adviser, economic adviser, standing adviser and advisory committee member.

“Law firms are, in effect, connected to virtually all government work, yet it is difficult to screen out the influence of former officials if reviews focus mainly on direct ties to the work they handled before leaving office,” Assemblyman Park said. “We need to examine whether the review standards are applied differently depending on rank and agency, and establish a mechanism to review the work people actually perform after taking a job.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.