In last year's evaluation of public institution management performance, 13 institutions, including the Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG), SR, Korea Tourism Organization, and Korea Coal Corporation, received the lowest grade. Among them, the Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation was confirmed to meet the reappointment requirements, leading to a recommendation for the dismissal of its head. This is the first case of a dismissal recommendation under the Lee Jae-myung government.
On the 20th, the Ministry of Economy and Finance held a public institution operation committee meeting chaired by 2nd Vice Minister Lim Gi-neun to review and approve the '2024 Public Institution Management Performance Evaluation Results and Follow-up Plans' based on 2023 performance. This evaluation was conducted for 87 public enterprises and quasi-government agencies.
The evaluation criteria included not only management efficiency such as financial performance and business productivity but also the fulfillment of social responsibility and the achievement of key government policy tasks. Points were given to institutions that actively promoted core national policy tasks such as price stability, housing measures, and investment expansion.
The management performance evaluation categorizes institutions into overall grades of S (excellent), A (good), B (fair), C (average), D (poor), and E (very poor) based on management management, major project promotion, and policy execution results. Only institutions with a grade of C or higher are eligible for performance bonuses.
In this evaluation, 15 institutions received an excellent grade, 28 were rated good, and 31 were rated average. In contrast, there were 9 institutions rated poor and 4 very poor. No institution received the top grade of S for three consecutive years since 2022.
The public enterprises that received an excellent grade include Korea Electric Power Corporation, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, Korea Southeast Power, Korea Southern Power, and Korea East-West Power, totaling 5 institutions. Among the quasi-government agencies, 10 received an A grade, including Korea Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, National Pension Service, Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), Korea Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Startups Agency, Korea Gas Safety Corporation, Korea Transportation Safety Authority, Korea Export Insurance Corporation, Korea Forest Welfare Agency, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology Planning and Evaluation, and Korea Institute of Industrial Technology.
The institutions rated good included 11 public enterprises and 17 quasi-government agencies. The average rating comprised 9 public enterprises and 22 quasi-government agencies. Institutions with a grade of C or higher receive performance bonuses based on evaluation results. However, institutions that incurred a net loss have their performance bonuses reduced.
There are a total of 9 institutions rated D. Among public enterprises, these include the Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation, Grand Korea Leisure (GKL), SR, Jeju International Free City Development Center (JDC), Korea Coal Corporation, and Korea Broadcasting Advertising Corporation. Among quasi-government agencies, the institutions included are the Postal Logistics Support Group, Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), and Korea Human Resources Development Service.
Institutions that received the very poor E grade include Korea Mine Rehabilitation and Mineral Resources Corporation (KOMIR), Korea Post Financial Development Institute, Korea Tourism Organization, and Korea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute, totaling 4 institutions. The number of E grade institutions increased from last year.
The criteria for dismissal recommendations in this evaluation are twofold. One is if the head of an institution rated D for two consecutive years has been in office for more than one year until the end of the year, and the other is if the institution received an E grade and the head has been in office for more than six months. As a result, a total of 5 institutions met the criteria, but only the Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation satisfied the reappointment period requirements. Consequently, the government decided to recommend the dismissal of President Yoo Byeong-tae. The other 4 were excluded because their heads were vacant or did not meet the reappointment period criteria.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance stated the reason for HUG's president's dismissal as, "HUG was insufficient in overall management, including ethical management, job creation, and financial planning, and shortcomings were revealed in its major business aspects related to addressing rental fraud and managing guarantee incidents."
In addition, the heads of 12 institutions rated D or E will receive warning measures. This also includes institutions where serious accidents have occurred. Six institutions that excelled in the performance of the job-based pay system will receive an additional allocation of 0.1 percentage points in total personnel expenses for 2026, while institutions with low job-based pay performance will see their current expenses reduced by up to 1%. Institutions with poor performance will be required to submit management improvement plans within the year and will be provided with external consulting.