Controversy Erupts Over Kimhae Talent Development Foundation CEO Appointment: What’s at Stake?

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Political factions are locked in a dispute over the appointment of the CEO of the Gimhae Talent Development Foundation, the organization set up to support Gimhae City’s partnership with Inje University on a “glocal” university initiative.

On the 16th, the Gimhae City Council convened the second plenary of its 277th extraordinary session and established a special committee to hold a confirmation hearing for the foundation’s CEO nominee.

Councilor Kim Yu-sang was named chair of the special committee, with Councilor Kim Jin-il as vice chair. The nine-member committee includes Song Jae-seok, Bae Hyun-ju, Ryu Myeong-yeol, Lee Mi-ae, Cho Pal-do, Kim Chang-su and Kim Dong-gwan. All members belong to the People Power Party.

Democratic Party councilors announced they would refuse to serve on the confirmation committee and walked out of the plenary session.

On the 12th, the city nominated Professor Won Jong-ha of Inje University’s Department of Business Administration as the candidate for the foundation’s CEO and requested a confirmation hearing from the council. Professor Won previously ran in the Saenuri Party’s Gimhae mayoral primary in 2014.

At a city hall press conference, the Democratic caucus demanded that Mayor Hong Tae-yong immediately withdraw the appointment.

They criticized the city for bypassing normal procedure, saying a CEO should be appointed through a formal board after the foundation receives establishment approval and completes corporate registration. Instead, they argued, the city moved forward with a recruitment process before the Gyeongnam Provincial Office of Education granted establishment approval and before the foundation was registered.

The caucus also alleged that Mayor Hong, who is scheduled to suspend his official duties on April 7 to run in the local elections, is engaging in an “entrenchment” maneuver to place trusted associates in key positions ahead of that suspension.

Democratic councilors said they would boycott the confirmation hearing in protest of what they described as the mayor’s unilateral personnel overreach.

The city countered that a confirmation hearing and corporate registration are not strictly sequential procedures. It argued that holding a hearing prior to formal registration is a routine administrative step intended to prevent a leadership gap and ensure stable operations when the foundation launches.

The city added that the establishment process for local investment and grant institutions is governed by multiple statutes — including the Civil Code, the Local Public Investment and Grants Act, and ordinances on confirmation hearings — and that the order and timing of each step can flexibly vary depending on the circumstances.

The city council plans to hold the confirmation hearing on the 27th to comprehensively evaluate the nominee’s ability to perform the role, qualifications, professional expertise and ethical fitness.