Kim Sung-ju, a former lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, has been reportedly named as the new CEO of the National Pension Service, the state pension behemoth run under the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

The appointment of Kim will likely entail a series of head replacements at state-run institutions under the health ministry, sources said.

The incumbent heads of the National Medical Center, the National Health Insurance Service, and the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service were all appointed by the previous Park Geun-hye administration. Observers have raised the need to replace them, saying the Moon Jae-in government should work with new heads.

At the recent parliamentary audit, lawmakers also called for replacing the heads of the agencies under the wing of the health and welfare ministry. Opposition lawmakers from the Liberty Korea Party, in particular, called the Moon government “incompetent,” saying keeping them in office shows the government’s incompetence.

The completion of the first parliamentary audit of the Moon Jae-in government, which came to power through an early presidential election, increase the chance of replacing the heads of state-funded agencies.

The National Health Insurance Service is most frequently rumored to face a head replacement. People are paying much attention to who will lead the NHIS, which should play a pivotal role in pushing the Moon government’s policy to expand the national insurance coverage.

Former lawmaker Kim Yong-ik of the then-New Politics Alliance for Democracy, the predecessor to the Democratic Party, is most likely to be appointed as the new NHIS head, as he had also been cited as a candidate for health and welfare minister. Some sources even say he is almost named to lead the NHIS. Other rumored candidates include Yang Bong-min, a professor at the Seoul National University’s School of Public Health.

Ahn Myoung-ock, president of the National Medical Center, is also under the spotlight whether she will be replaced due to her involvement in the former president Park Geun-hye’s influence-peddling scandal. With her three-year term ending in December, Ahn called the parliamentary audit of NMC held on Oct. 23 as “the last audit.”

During the audit on the NMC, Ahn was criticized for unnecessary overseas business trips, inappropriate use of research and service fees, and hiring of her relatives as NMC employees. Some lawmakers urged a further investigation by the Board of Audit and Inspection. If the BAI inspects the case and confirms her suspected acts, Ahn is likely to face penalty even after leaving the NMC.

Heads at the NHIS and the NMC are likely to be changed because their terms almost expired. However, other chiefs of health and welfare-related institutions still have much time until the end of their terms.

Kim Seung-taek, president of the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service, has served less than a year out of his three-year term since he took office in March. The National Evidence-based Healthcare Collaborating Agency President Lee Young-sung and Korea Human Resource Development Institute for Health & Welfare President Choi Young-hyun also have spent only one year as the head since late 2016.

kss@docdocdoc.co.kr

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