A visualization of power, personified as a monster, wielding financial and personnel control, trampling on the legislature, judiciary, and executive branch. This symbolizes the completion of a dictatorial regime. Graphic from Hankook Ilbo.

The government organization reform will consolidate the three major powers of finance, budget, and personnel into the Presidential Office.

Concerns are growing that the Presidential Office, with Kim Yong-beom, a former Financial Services Commission official, as Chief Policy Secretary, has already taken control, and that budget authority will fall under the Presidential Office's influence with the establishment of the Ministry of Planning and Budget.

Furthermore, with the addition of Kim Hyun-ji, the Secretary for General Affairs who followed Lee Jae-myung from his time in Seongnam, and Kim Yong-chae, the young Secretary for Personnel, the Presidential Office is facing increasing criticism for completing a 'dictatorial regime' that holds both the financial strings and the reins of control.

The Finance Line: Holding the Lifeline of Corporations

Kim Yong-beom, the Chief Policy Secretary, is a financial bureaucrat who served as the First Vice Minister of Economy and Finance and the Vice Chairman of the Financial Services Commission.

By appointing him, who has intervened in household debt, PF defaults, and bank interest policies, President Lee Jae-myung has created a structure that effectively manages the banking sector's leash directly.

Banks are the financial lifeline of corporations. Controlling finance is akin to holding the power of life and death over businesses.

The Budget Line: Grasping National Resources

With the amendment of the Government Organization Act, the Ministry of Planning and Budget will be established. Although nominally under the Prime Minister, the budget formulation and allocation process is inevitably intertwined with the policy and general affairs secretariats within the Presidential Secretariat.

Kim Hyun-ji, the Secretary for General Affairs, is in a position overseeing the budget execution and finances of the Presidential Office, making her a focal point of connection with the Ministry of Planning and Budget. Having assisted Lee Jae-myung since his time in Seongnam, she has now emerged not as an "invisible power broker" but as a "shadow power broker" holding the purse strings.

The Personnel Line: Holding the Leash of People as Well

Kim Yong-chae, the Secretary for Personnel, is a relatively young aide, but he has built a relationship with Lee Jae-myung since his time as a parliamentary aide and Gyeonggi Governor. He now oversees the personnel line of the Presidential Office, managing public official appointments and staff placements.

Personnel is a key tool for managing loyalty and the power base. With the Presidential Office controlling not only finance and budget but also personnel, the concentration of power is being amplified.

The Row over Kim Hyun-ji's National Audit Witness Summons, Why?

The opposition party's insistence on summoning Kim Hyun-ji, the Secretary for General Affairs, is aimed at targeting the triangular formation of Kim Yong-beom, Kim Hyun-ji, and Kim Yong-chae. By having Kim Hyun-ji, considered the hub of the finance, budget, and personnel triangle, testify at the national audit, the reality of the concentrated power structure can be exposed.

While the ruling party refutes this as "political infighting," the fact that close associates, known as the "Seongnam line," have occupied the core of the Presidential Office's power is undeniable.

Finance, budget, and personnel. As these three axes converge in the Presidential Office, the administration has effectively completed a 'dictatorial regime' that simultaneously holds the reins of both corporations and individuals.

"Money Solves Everything" and History's Warning

The reason for the assessment that the "money solves everything" (mansadon-tong) state philosophy has now become the power structure itself, rather than just a slogan.

History clearly warns: excessive concentration of power has consistently led to corruption and downfall.

The dispute over summoning Kim Hyun-ji, the Secretary for General Affairs, is not merely political wrangling but a critical juncture testing whether the safety mechanisms of democracy are still functioning.

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